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/// 



THE LIFE 



OF 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 



BY P. C. HEADLEY, 

AUTHOR OF "LIFE OF THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE," ETC. 



NEW YORK AND AUBURN : 
MILLER, ORTON & CO., 

New York: 25 Park Eow— 'Auburn: 107 Genesee-st 

1857. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and 

fifty-three, by 

Debby and Milxeb, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Northern District of New-York. 



1 
SEP 30 .WW 



STEREOTYPED BY 

DEBBY AND MILLEB, 

AUBURN. 



^ 



PREFACE. 



The universal interest felt in the romantic and tragical career 
of Mary Stuart, seemed to demand an American biography, 
adapted to the popular mind. Such a work the one now offered 
to the public was designed to be. The authors mainly consulted 
and quoted are, Mrs. Strickland, Miss. Benger, Mignet, Mc- 
Crie, and Hume. Some of these historians, in their unquali- 
fied and extravagant admiration of the Queen of Scots, apolo- 
gize for every fault, and illustrate glowingly every virtue. 
Others lean to the defence of Elizabeth, at the expense of Ma- 
ry s cause. 

Both extremes have been avoided in purpose, if not in fact, 
in this biography. Less pure and loving than Josephine, Ma- 
ry Stuart was more beautiful, and tossed on more tempestuous 
seas ; a weary captive, she laid at length her crowned head on 
the executioner's block, affording an historical record, and a 
moral lesson, none can contemplate without benefit to the in 
tellect and to the heart. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Page. 
Personal and historical interest of Mary's life — Her ancestry — 

Circumstances of her birth — Death of James V. — Henry 
VIII. of England, solicits the hand of Mary Stuart for the 
young Prince of Wales — Mary's coronation — The treaty 
with England broken, and an alliance with France formed — 
"War is declared by King Henry — Upon the death of Henry, 
Somerset becomes Protector — He prosecutes the plans of his 
late King — Battle of Pinkie — Mary's removal to Inchma- 
home — She sails for France — Her arrival — Her residence in 
the Convent — She is removed to the Palace — The Court of 
Henry II. — Mary's education — Letter to her Mother — Inci- 
dents — Her beauty and accomplishments — Her character at 
the age of fifteen, . IS 

CHAPTER H. 

The Dauphin — Mary's attachment to him — The treacherous 
conditions of marriage — The magnificent nuptials — The 
Commissioners' return to Scotland — Rejoicings and develop- 
ments — Elizabeth ascends the Throne of England — Her per- 
son and character — Henry of France makes her the rival of 
Mary Stuart — Changes in the French Court — Death of Hen- 
ry II. — Results — The Dauphin's joy at his elevation to the 
Throne — The condition of affairs in Scotland — The Regent's 
death — Treaty of peace — Death of Francis II. — Mary's 



VI CONTENTS. 

HA 

Mourning — Elizabeth's condolence — Foreign Ambassadors 
— Catherine's jealousy — Mary prepares to return to Scot- 
land — Letter of the Laird of Lethington — Negotiations — 
The Queen's journey ings — Elizabeth refuses a safe conduct 
—Mary's departure — Her adieu, 36 

CHAPTER ffl. 

The voyage — Mary arrives at Leith — Popular rejoicings- 
John Knox — Mary's religious concessions — Her public en- 
try into Edinburgh — Interview with John Knox — The com- 
promise — Lord James Stuart — Life at Holyrood — Conspir- 
acies and revolt — Mary heads an army — Another interview 
with Knox — Correspondence with Elizabeth — Proposed 
meeting of the Sovereigns — Traits of character — Scenes in 
the Palace — Lovers — Lords Dudley and Darnley — Negotia- 
tions — James Mel vil's mission — Eandolph's visit to St. An- 
drews — The result — Murray 'a conspiracy and revolt — The 
wedding, 18 

CHAPTER IV. 

The immediate results of Mary's marriage with Darnley-— 
Campaign against Murray — Mary Stuart is victorious — She 
•writes to Archbishop of Glasgow — Issues a proclamation — 
She discloses her plans for restoring the Catholic faith — Let- 
ter to Philip II., of Spain — Mary marching a third time 
against Murray,, totally routs his faction — He flies to Eng- 
land — Elizabeth extorts a confession that she did not en- 
courage the rebellion — Mary's policy — Rizzio's elevation — 
Darnley loses the Queen's confidence — His aspirations — 
Darnley plots Rizzio's death — The tragedy — Mary's feel- 
ings and conduct — Mary is a captive — Darnley relents — 
The flight — Mary gathers an army — Campaigns and victo- 
ries — Trouble with Darnley increases — A son is born — 
Congratulations — Anticipations — Bothwell and Mary — 
Excursions — Darnley's plans — Yields to Mary — The Chris- 
tening — A divorce or murder suggested to Mary — The Con- 
spiracy — Mary's guilt — The Issue, 112 



CONTENTS. Vll 

CHAPTER V. 

PAGE, 

Mary's movements after the death of Darnley — Mary at Seton 
— Popular feeling —The Earl of Lennox writes Mary — Let- 
ter from Elizabeth — Mary's intimacy with Bothwell — The 
mock trial and acquittal of the Earl — His arrogance and 
designs — The banquet — The nobles sign the bond praying 
Mary to marry Bothwell — His rudeness to the Queen — Her 
devotion to him — The stratagem to hasten the wedding — 
its success — Mary's return to Edinburgh — The nuptials — 
Domestic discord — Embassies — Eebellion — Feeling in the 
Court of Charles IX., of France — The confederates march 
towards Bothwick Castle — Bothwell escapes — Mary's flight 
The preparations for battle — Mediation of De Croc — The 
Queen's extremity — March to Edinburgh — Her distress— 
The warrant for her imprisonment — Mary Stuart in Loch- 
leven Castle, lit 



CHAPTER VL 

New dangers threaten Mary — Sir James Melvil — Elizabeth's 
interposition — The designs and action of the Confederates 
— Throckmorton's embassy and instructions — The corona- 
tion of James — The arrival of Murray — His interview with 
Mary — Is proclaimed Kegent — The people approve the 
measure — Elizabeth only interferes — Murray triumphs — « 
Both well's fate — His companions — Mary in prison — At- 
tempts to escape — She is at length successful — Raises an 
army — The battle — Mary flies — Reaches Carlisle — "Writes 
Elizabeth — Throws herself on the mercy of the Queen of 
England — Negotiations — Elizabeth demands a trial of Ma- 
ry — Letters to her from the Captive — ■ • Preparations for the 
conference — The Court at York — The position and error of 
Mary, 212 

CHAPTER VH. 

The conference — Letter of Mary Stuart to the King of Spain 
—The Scotch Commissioners withdraw — Murray accuses 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

PASS. 

Mary — Elizabeth proposes to her Prisoner a reply to the ev- 
idence — Mary refuses — The Queen of England writes to 
Mary — Mary vindicates her course — The .conference closes 

— Mary Stuart's letter to Elizabeth — The conflict of royal 
determinations — Mary is removed to the Castle of Tut- 
bury — Murray's movements — The Duke of Norfolk as- 
pires to the hand of Mary — His designs discovered by 
Elizabeth — Mary is more closely confined — The Duke, is 
arrested — Mary writes to Elizabeth — Insurrection — Mur- 
ray is triumphant — His assassination — His character — Let- 
ters of Mary — Negotiations with Elizabeth — Conspiracy 

— It is detected — Norfolk's death and character — Mary's 
condition, 268 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Changes in the Regency of Scotland — Massacre of St. Barthol- 
• omew — Its effects on Elizabeth and Mary's prospects — De- 
signs against Mary — Death of Knox — The total overthrow 
of her party in Scotland — Letter to Elizabeth — Lenity oi 
the English Queen — Correspondence of Mary Stuart — An- 
other conspiracy — Letters to Archbishop of Glasgow — Ex- 
ecution of Morton, Regent of Scotland — A new conspiracy 

— Its failure — Letter of Mary to Elizabeth, 322 

CHAPTER IX. 

Mary Stuart is arraigned before the High Court of Justice — 
Scenes of the trial — Elizabeth hesitates to pronounce the 
sentence of death, according to the unanimous voice of the 
Commissioners — The* result of the trial is announced to Ma- 
ry — Letters to friends — Her last message to Elizabeth — 
Interference of Foreign Courts — Unnatural conduct of 
James VI. — Elizabeth signs the wai-rant of Mary's execution 

— Paulet refuses to slay his prisoner privately — The officers 
of justice repair to Fotheringay Castle — The scenes there 

— The warrant is read to Mary — Her reply — Affecting in- 
terviews — Her last night — "Writes her will — Prospect of 
death, 402 



CONTENTS, IX 

CHAPTER X. 

Mary Stuart's last slumber — The morning dawns — The inter- 
view with her servants — Her devotions — The summons — 
The Captive's death-march — Her address on the scaffold — 
Religious scenes — The Victim prepares for the sacrifice — 
The fatal stroke — Funeral ceremonies — Effect of Mary's ex- 
ecution on the public mind — Her character, 433 



LIFE OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

personal and historical interest of mary's life fler ancestrs 

— circumstances of her birth death of james v. henry the 

viii. of england, solicits the hand of mary stuart for the young 

prince of "wales mary's coronation the treaty with england 

broken, and an alliance "with france formed war is declared 

by king henry upon the death of henry, somerset becomes 

protector he prosecutes the plans of his late king battle 

of pinkie — mary's removal to inchmahome — she sails for France 

— her arrival her residence in the convent she is removed 

to the palace the court of henry ii. mary's education — 

letter to her mother incidents her beauty and accomplish- 
ments her character at the age of fifteen. 

The name of Mary, like that of Josephine, awakens 
a universal and mournful interest. Born to royalty, 
she was the most beautiful and accomplished sove- 
reign in the world during a stormy period of the Scot- 
tish monarchy, and after a captivity of nearly half of 
her life-time, died on the scaffold, in the full maturity 
of her womanhood ; illustrating the mutability of " all 
things terrene," and how great a misfortune may be 
the heritage of greatness. The peninsula of Northern 
Britain, which was the mountainous home of the Gal- 
lic race, after the ceaseless war of clans for centuries, 



14: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

and invasions of the Saxons, Angles, and Danes, be- 
came an independent monarchy abont the middle of 
the fourteenth century, when David II. ascended the 
throne founded by his illustrious father, Robert Bruce. 
An alliance with France modified the severe manners 
of the Scottish nobility, and opened a refuge for the 
unfortunate Mary. Of the four kings who reigned 
before Mary's father took the sceptre, James I. and 
James HE. died by the hands of the assassin, and 
James II. and James IY. were slain in battle. James 
Y. succeeded to the throne in 1513, then only eighteen 
months old, under the regency of Margaret of Eng- 
land, his mother. 

The biography of Mary Stuart, therefore, .has not 
only the interest of tragedy, but is a focal point in 
history, in which the past and present meet, with an 
intensity of life, perhaps, unknown in the annals of 
woman, if we except the rise and decline of the Em- 
press, whose destiny was the dial of Napoleon's fa^e. 

Mary Stuart was born December 8, 1542 — (accord- 
ing to Miss Benger's Memoirs, December 7,) — at the 
palace of Linlithgow, situated on the shore of a beau- 
tiful lake in the heart of Scotland. Her father, James 
Y., assumed the reins of government when seventeen 
years old, and at twenty-three, married Magdalen, 
daughter of Francis I. She died two years later, and 
the King married Mary, eldest daughter of Claude de 
Guise, of Lorraine, and widow of Louis of Orleans — 
an accomplished and fascinating woman. There was 
a sad omen in the circumstances attending the birth 
of Mary. James, who had refused to meet Henrv 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 15 

the Eighth of England at York, to form a religions 
union, was caressed and flattered by the cardinal and 
bishops, while the increasing spirit of faction spread 
among his nobles. When, therefore, his army came 
to battle with five hnndred English, at Solway Moss, 
they immediately fled. His proud and passionate 
heart was stnng with mortification, and weakly yield- 
ing to the calamity, he died a few days after hearing 
the tidings of Mary's birth. Upon the factions deser- 
tion of his forces, " the King passed ont of Holyrood 
Honse to Falkland, and there became heavy and do- 
lorous, that he never ate nor drank that had digestion ; 
and so he became vehement sick that no man had 
hope of his life : then he sent for certain of his lords, 
both spiritual and temporal, to have their counsel, but 
ere they came, he was well nigh strangled to death 
by extreme melancholy. By this the post came to 
the King out of Linlithgow, showing him good tidings 
that the Queen was delivered. The Kin$. inquired 
whether it was a man-child or a woman ; & J. messen- 
ger said, ' It is a fair daughter ;' the King answered, 
Adieu ! farewell : it came with a lass, and it will pass 
with a lass ; and so he recommended himself to the 
mercy of Almighty God, and spake little from that 
time forth, but turned his back to his lords, and his 
face to the wall. At this time Laird Beaton, Cardi- 
nal of Scotland, standing in presence of the King, 
seeing him begin to fail of his strength and natural 
speech, held a throck of paper to his grace, and caus- 
ed him to subscribe the same, wherein the said car- 
dinal wrote what pleased him, for his own particular 



16 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

thinking, to have authority and preeminence in the 
government of the country. But we may know here- 
by the King's legacy was very short, for in this man- 
ner he departed, as hereafter I shall show you. He 
turned him upon his back, and looked and looked and 
beheld all his nobles and lords about him, and gave a 
little smile of laughter, then kissed his hand, and 
offered the same to all his nobles round about him, 
thereafter held up his hands, and yielded his spirit 
to God." 

No sooner was the King buried, than the uncon- 
scious infant, his only daughter, became the object of 
political intrigue and bitter jealousies. The English 
monarch dispatched Sadler, a distinguished negotia- 
tor, to secure the marriage of his son Edward to the 
heiress of Scotland. His design was to consolidate 
the interests of the two kingdoms, and establish 
abiding peace. The difficulties to be overcome were 
manifold. The nobility were divided. A large party 
was dependent on England, another sympathized with 
France, and a third, the smallest faction, was com- 
posed of genuine patriots — high-minded men, ready 
to defend with their blood, the independence and glo- 
ry of their ancient realm. The clergy were of course 
hostile to the Reformation, and actively fanned the 
flame of discord between England and semi-catholic 
Scotland. Meanwhile, the Earl of Arran, through the 
ascendency of the nobility, was appointed by Parlia- 
ment Regent of the kingdom. To him Sadler pro- 
posed the alliance. Cardinal Beaton, who had as- 
pired to the regency, employed his influence over the 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 17 

earl, to prevent the consummation of the politic 
scheme, and obtain a similar arrangement with France 
a papal power. Although Arran vacillated, Henry 
the YIII. might have succeeded, had not his fiery and 
impetuous nature urged his claims too vehemently. 
He demanded the guardianship of Mary till she was 
of marriageable age, and also asked the surrender of 
several of the most impregnable fortresses in Scot- 
land. This exaction roused popular feeling, and Hen- 
ry was compelled to contract his royal ambition, to 
the simple requisition, that the juvenile Queen be 
sent to England when she had reached her tenth year, 
and espouse the Prince of Wales. On the 1st of July, 
1543, a treaty was concluded between the Eegent 
and King Henry. During this excitment, spreading 
over two monarchies, and enlisting the diplomacy of 
lords and kings, Mary Stuart was smiling in the 
dreams of helpless infancy at Linlithgow. The loch 
sparkled beneath the castle windows — fountains sent 
up their showers of diamonds — and the soothing ac- 
cents of Janet, her nurse, were more welcome than 
the salutations of steel-clad barons and earls, who 
came to look on the child, and congratulate the wid- 
owed mother. It was well that neither parent nor 
offspring saw the strange contrasts and fearful hours 
of the future. Mary was about nine months old, 
when her coronation was appointed, on the 9th of 
September, 1543, at Stirling Castle— less than a score 
of miles from Linlithgow — where this pageant had 
for many years been witnessed. 

The day was one of universal and thrilling interest 

2 



18 MARY QUEEK OF SCOTS. 

in Scotland. The first female sovereign on the throne 
of Bruce, was to be invested with crown and scepter. 
Two rival kingdoms, and the reformers of Europe 
were concerned in the significant event. To behold 
the magnificent scene, came pilgrims from highland 
and lowland, and from adjacent realms, winding up 
the hill sides from the beautiful vales, to the rocky 
summit, frowning with the battlements and towers of 
Stirling Castle. In the glittering train that followed 
the infant Mary, the Earl of Arran bore the crown — 
Lennox held the scepter. It is a singular fact, that 
the fathers of Darnley and Bothwell, the immediate 
instruments of Mary's tragical overthrow, were among 
the attendants, who assisted in her coronation. Car- 
dinal Beaton placed the symbol of regal power upon 
the brow of the laughing babe, around whom fac- 
tions sternly faced each other, and the shouts of the 
multitude made the old fortress rock to its base. The 
only bewildered and unconscious being there, was 
the heiress to scarcely less than a crown of thorns. 
When the imposing ceremonies had passed, and the 
intrigues of aspiring men were renewed, the Earl of 
Arran began to feel the force of a long cherished 
family preference for French alliances, and the artful 
appeals of Cardinal Beaton. Renouncing his Protest- 
ant tendencies, he joined the Catholic party, of which 
the Queen Dowager, distinguished for her dissimula- 
tion and diplomacy, was the head. The covenant with 
England was therefore annulled, and on the 15th of 
December, less than six months after the treaty with 
Henry was formed, an alliance with France was signed 



MART QUEEtf OF SCOTS. 19 

at Edinburgh, by the Regent and Estates of Scotland, 
who at the same time ratified, in Mary's name, all the 
treaties which had been made between the realms, 
since the reign of Robert Brace. 

This was the signal of war, which was declared by 
the enraged monarch of England, and a fleet was dis- 
patched to the Erith of Forth. This armament left 
black desolation in its path along the coast, and at 
length threatened with the torch of conflagration the 
noble city of Edinburgh. Upon the southern frontier 
hnng the English army, ravaging the Scottish plains 
with frequent and lawless incursions. It was the folly 
of a prince, haughtily impatient of restraint, to an- 
ticipate success by urging young Edward's right to 
Mary's hand, upon the resolute Scotch, with the ruth- 
less enterprise of a freebooter. The inevitable result 
was, a deepening hatred of the English, and more 
determined resistance. From France, auxiliary troops 
were called, to prosecute vigorously the war. The 
whole country was in a state of alarm. Persecution 
went abroad, with unrelenting cruelty. The castle 
of St. Andrews and the French galleys received the 
leaders of the English Reformation in Scotland. The 
virtuous and gifted Wishart went to the stake under 
the religious despotism of Cardinal Beaton; and 
bloody deeds were everywhere common. The death 
of Henry YIII. in January, 1547, left his experiment 
of uniting the houses of the Stuarts and the Tudors, 
a total failure, and the kingdoms of Scotland and 
England wider asunder than at any previous period. 

The Duke of Somerset, uncle of Edward YI., was 



20 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

appointed Protector of the kingdom, during the mi- 
nority of the Prince, and carried forward energetically 
the plans of the late King. With an army of eighteen 
thousand men, he appeared on Scottish soil, and offer- 
ed to retire, only on conditions that Mary should re- 
main in her native land till old enough to marry, and 
that all negotiations with France cease forever. But 
the spirit of national independence, which spumed 
the humiliation of concession, lived among the high- 
lands, and in the palaces of the divided nobility. The 
Earl of Arran gathered a force of more than thirty 
thousand soldiers, and marched to the banks of the 
Eske, four miles from Edinburgh, where Somerset had 
taken his position. The Protector then renewed his 
proj)osals to evacuate the realm, and also repair dam- 
ages which he had committed, upon the same terms 
as before. The Scotch, confident of victory, refused, 
and after some manceuvering, the battle opened. The 
strife was fierce ; and when the clashing of spears had 
died away, and the tempest of arrows ceased, there 
lay ten thousand of Arran's host on the field, and the 
remainder were fiying hotly before the shouting ene- 
my, whose loss was scarcely two hundred men. This 
decisive contest was called the battle of Pinkie, from 
the seat of a nobleman near the scene of bloody en- 
counter. The English, advancing to Leith, finally 
entrenched themselves in the southern part of the 
country, and received the surrender of the lairds along 
that frontier. Somerset, alarmed by cabals against 
him at home, hastened to London ; and Scotland, im- 
proving the delay, turned anxiously to France, ten- 



MARY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 21 

dering that power the guardianship and inheritance 
of Mary Stuart. The Princess had passed the period 
of these exciting events at Stirling Castle, under the 
care of her governors, Lords Erskine and Livingston, 
a lovely, laughing girl, not six years of age, when the 
tidings of defeat at Pinkie reached the royal fortress. 

Stirling was now in danger of assault, and it was 
determined to remove Mary to the island of Inchma- 
home, in the lake of Monteith.* There was a mon^ 
astery there, sheltered by its isolation from the fora- 
ging troops of the English army. It was a romantic 
retreat, devoted to religious purposes mainly, and like 
Calypso's island to the young captive of Stirling Cas- 
tle. In addition to the curators of her person, she 
was attended by Erskine, the prior of Inchmahome, 
the parson of Balmacellan, the nurse, Janet Sinclair, 
her governess, Lady Fleming, daughter of James 
Fourth, and over all, Mary of Guise, whose clear in- 
tellect was stimulated to activity and vigilance by 
maternal affection. To increase the pleasures of an 
Dnly daughter, and give completeness to her culture, 
she formed a social group, or school, of four girls, 
about the same age, and bearing the name of the 
Queen. The first was Mary Beaton, niece of the car 
dinal ; the second, Mary Fleming, daughter of Lord 
Fleming ; the third, Mary Livingston, and the fourth, 
Mary Seaton. 

Little is known of Mary Stuart's history in Inch- 
mahome. She had begun an acquaintance with the 

* Mr. Abbott puts Mary's removal to Inchmahome about three 
years earlier, which does not agree with Mignet and others. 



|| M A If. V IjUKMI «» |. ii C<.CI 

I iv ii. ii language ! and, if i aid, with other classics. 
I loubtloi h, i < ■ pi in" i he "■ i •■• ,.i"ii;ii recital Ions, mal 
in . 1 1 1 < i v . |m i i In c childn n , si y< ars of age, pa 
nod i heir I lino an ol hem do, amid 1 l" 1 pleasanl i cone i 
of quiet life, In |m enile pastimes, and ramble over 
i he •• i eon ei planade of I heir consecrated liome In a 
lew iiH.ni h i i he M.n \ u ere remo> ed from fcld i tran 
qui] mi. I dollghl fill i ofnge, to l Miini-.H ion < In i le ; 
whore bold and pomantb scenery has ftirnishod glow 
in- Mi. •in. -m lor I loot! i Ii i ong, This hrun lor, w hicb 
oontomplated Hi»- Interference of Mm- Duke of Somor 

Set I" I" ' \ (Mil I ll<^ r;:.;i|..- of i\|:ny |o I'm n.r, \\ a. , 

• >n MkiI aooount, of short continuance. Admiral \ 11 
legognon, with Poui galleys, wras In the Clyde, to con 
\ <v the Queen and her retinue bo the dominioni of 
1 1< in \ 1 1 p who had succeeded Francis I. The fleet 
sailed from harbor the Tth of A.ugush The parting 
vritli her mother was affecting ; but it is affirmed l>v 

i rapliors, that n<> murmurs escaped (in- young en 

He's lips. Hho wept with a multitude of h or people, 
.1 the royal vessel floated away, and her native land 
began to reoede from her radianl • •\< > Beared^ had 
ilir Hi .I passed out Into the deep, before Iho Kngli l» 
squadron arrived :H Si. Abb's Head, i<» oppose Its de 
parture from 1 1 » « ^ coast of Scotland, After :i pirn anl 

vnviiJVN ('"• ll vin.", Mary, \y i I Ii lirr company , an i \ c.l al 

l*i«i, AngiiHl. l.'Uli, IMS. gho was received with 
nil pomp by tli4 King of France, and ili< x pro< e Ion 
moved on io Paris amid the regal splondor of that 
oxl i a\ .i ■•.mi period of French history, Prison doors 
wore thrown open .'ii the approach of the cavalcade, 



M A K. y OJI ICION ()K MOOTS. i53 

and 1,1m captives restored to freedom. T f. was a 
strangely exciting scone to the Laughing giiil who whs 
the cause of it ail. 
After a brief residence w the palace of St. Oor- 

mum, surrounded willi courtly | ►:i^*':i nlty , M;uy wns 

removed to a convent, t<> complete her education. 
She was subjected bo strict rules of discipline, :iinl 
regularly accustomed to j*>in the num in their devo- 
tional exercises, and ascetic humiliations: and so rend 

ily di<l she comply with wh;ite\ cr w:is required by 

ber spiritual directors, that they began to elu.u-isn 
ambitious hopes of their royal pupil, and bo beast 
that she had :», religious rocation. This persuasion 
■was toe, agreeable to sel&love and f<> enthusiasm, to 
be confined to their own community ; the auni oiii 
ciousiy proclaimed their conviction that the little 
Mary Stuart would be a saint on earth : and with 

such zeal was the rumor propagated, that it eren 
reached the King, who had just returned foona Bon* 
logne, and who, not relishing the suggestion, Lmme 
diately demanded that his daughter in Law elect 
should be transferred to apartments (a the palace, 
where she could dlo Longer be accessible to sainted 
maids, or exposed to their pious seduc/tions. Accord 
ing to her Learned biographer,* the execution of this 
mandate drew from fc£ary more tears Mian she had 
shed on leaving Scotland. Whether the endearing 
manners of the community had so strongly engaged 
her affections, or Mint, in the tranquillity of her re- 
treat, so congenial bo the simple wishes of childhood, 
* Oonnui in .M/1>. 



24 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

the sensibilities of her nature had prematurely ex- 
paneled, we are assured not only that she evinced deep 
sorrow at this change of residence, but that she ea- 
gerly embraced every permission that was offered, of 
revisiting the sisters of the community, and long after 
employed her needle in embroidering an altar-piece 
for the church of their convent.* In the palace, as be- 
fore, Mary was attended by her two scholastic pre- 
ceptors, her governess, the Lady Fleming, and her 
curator, Reid, Bishop of Orkney, who had succeeded 
Lord Livingston in that important trust. Her Marys 
continued to be her constant companions ; and as she 
discovered uncommon aptitude to application, nothing 
was omitted to stimulate her exertions or increase her 
diligence. Exclusive of the Latin and French, she 
began also to study the Italian language ; but music 
was rarely cultivated by the great as a science, and 
it was not till a later period that she learnt to play 
on the virginals and clavichords. 

The education of Mary was precisely such as was 
given to the daughters of France, with certain sup 
plementary literary advantages, for which she ap- 
pears to have been exclusively indebted to the super- 
intendence of her uncle, Cardinal Lorraine. In the 
education of a royal personage, mental cultivation, 
however highly valued, was of subordinate importance 
to the acquisition of those external accomplishments, 
essentially necessary to that public exhibition which 
is unavoidably imposed on the station of a sovereign. 
For those who live exposed to the public gaze, alter- 

* Concerns in Jebb. 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 25 

nately the objects of criticism and admiration, to be 
wanting in a dignified carriage, or gracious demeanor; 
to be untasteful in dress, of ungraceful speech, or shy, 
repulsive manners, has ever been an irreparable de- 
fect, for which neither moral nor intellectual qualifies 
could compensate to their possessor. To guaranty the 
royal pupils from this misfortune, appears to have 
been a primary object with the French teacher: and 
whilst the prince was taught to ride, to fence, and 
to perform all the athletic exercises suited to his sex 
and rank, he was at the same time habituated to 
speak in public, to recite discourses, which he, per- 
haps, scarcely understood, and to address, in a tone 
of confidence and friendship, those to whose persons 
and character he was almost a stranger." 

The influences which were to attend Mary, appear 
in a brief and vivid description of royalty. " This 
court was then the most magnificent, the most elegant, 
the most joyous, and, we must add, the most lax in 
Europe. Still retaining certain military customs of 
the middle ages, and at the same time conforming to 
the intellectual usages of the time of the renaissance, 
it was half-chivalric and half-literary, mingling tourna- 
ments with studies, hunting with erudition, mental 
achievements with bodily exercises, the ancient and 
rough games of skill and strength with the novel and 
delicate pleasures of the arts. Nothing could equal 
the splendor and vivacity which Francis I. had 
introduced into his court, by attracting thither all the 
principal nobility of France, by educating as pages 
B * 



26 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

therein young gentlemen of all the provinces, by 
adorning it with nearly two hundred ladies belonging 
to the greatest families in the kingdom, and by estab- 
lishing it sometimes in the splendid palaces of Fon- 
tainbleau and St. Germain, which he had either built 
or beautified, on the banks of the Seine, and sometimes 
in the spacious castles of Blois and Amboise, which his 
predecessors had inhabited, on the banks of the Loire. 
A careful imitator of his father's example, Henry II. 
kept up the same magnificence at his court, which 
was presided over with as much grace as activity by 
the subtle Italian, Catherine de Medici, whose char- 
acter had been formed by Francis L, who had admit- 
ted her into the petite ~bande de ses dames favorites, 
with whom he used to hunt the stag, and frequently 
sport in his pleasure-houses! The men were con- 
stantly in the company of the women ; the Queen 
and her ladies were present at all the games and 
amusements of Henry II. and his gentlemen, and ac- 
companied them in the chase. The King, on his part, 
together with the noblemen of his retinue, used to 
pass several hours every morning and evening in the 
apartments of Catherine de Medici. " There," says 
Brantome, " there was a host of human goddesses, 
some more beautiful than others ; every lord and gen- 
tleman conversed with her he loved best ; whilst the 
King talked to the Queen, his sister, the dauphins, 
(Mary Stuart,) and the princesses, together with those 
lords and princes who were seated nearest him." As 
the kings themselves had avowed mistresses, they 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 27 

were desirous that their subjects should follow their 
example, " and if they did not do so," says Brantome, 
" they considered them coxcombs and fools." 

Mary's education had, therefore, all the elaborate 
culture and glaring faults incident to royal munifi- 
cence, Romish instructors and a corrupt court. Pride 
of lineage, and a self-respect that would repel a stain 
upon hereditary honors, sooner than an assault upon 
personal virtue, were conspicuous in the splendid reign 
of Henry the Second. There was pageantry reflect- 
ing the ancestral glory of past ages, and a polished 
surface-dressing of society, which concealed a melan- 
choly want of religious tone and purity. Instead of 
the power of Puritan faith, the young Queen embra- 
ced ardently the dogmas of persecuting Rome. These 
early influences upon her character were afterwards 
developed in acts which partially eclipsed her amia- 
ble qualities and brilliant genius. 

When nearly eight years old, her mother, Queen 
Dowager of Scotland, reached Rouen. The arrange- 
ments for this anticipated visit were expensive and im- 
posing. After the dazzling reception given by the 
King and his attendants, Mary of Guise was conducted 
to the apartments of Mary Stuart. The sight of the 
beautiful girl, whose deportment had the refined dig- 
nity of queenly womanhood, was like a rapturous 
vision to the ambitious mother. Tears of joy fell fast, 
and smiles of maternal affection played brightly round 
her tremulous lips. But the Princess stood in the con- 
scious greatness of her destiny, and with the subsiding 
ecstacy of her mother, quietly demanded, " whethei 



28 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

any feuds continued to subsist in the noble families of 
Scotland ; at the same time inquiring by name for 
those who had evinced most attachment to the ancient 
faith. She then proceeded to ask, with all the usual 
expressions of royal benevolence, if the English still 
harrassed her dear native country ; whether divine 
worship had been preserved in uncontaminated puri- 
ty ; whether the prelates and priests attended to their 
respective duties, expressing detestation for all who 
had forsaken the faith of their fathers." This prema- 
ture display of powers, betrayed both her docility 
toward her teachers, and the artificial training of the 
palace and the times. For two days, festal scenes 
were witnessed in the ancient town of Rouen. 

" The only classical part of the show, was a tri- 
umphal arch, under which passed a procession, at once 
superb and grotesque. The first object was a chariot, 
drawn by a unicorn, after which came two elephants, 
or rather horses so disguised as to represent them, 
bearing on their backs two litters, in which were seat- 
ed ladies, of whom a transient glimpse was taken 
from the latticed apertures. Religion followed in her 
triumphal car, bearing in her arms the appropriate 
symbol of a church. Next to these walked a man, 
carrying the image of the Virgin and the child Jesus. 
Then followed the car of Fortune, in which rode an- 
other man, young and handsome, as the representa- 
tive of Henry the Second, behind whom stalked a 
boy, to personate the Dauphin. To crown the whole, 
Neptune glided along with Amphitrite, attended by 
tri^ons and sea monsters." 



MARY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 29 

This display was followed by a public entry into 
Paris. For a year, Mary enjoyed the society of her 
mother, surrounded with scenes of festivity and all the 
pleasures of a court, of which she was the favorite. 
It is not strange that her early love grew strong for 
France, and that in after life, she turned to memory's 
record of those departed joys, with tears. But the 
Queen Dowager had more ambitious aims to secure 
before leaving the palace of Henry, than the society 
of her daughter and the brilliant succession of enter- 
tainments which she enjoyed. Her aspiring heart 
had been long fixed on attaining the regency of Scot- 
land, which now she saw within her grasp. It was 
only necessary to obtain the assent of the King to the 
conditions, upon which the Earl of Arran might be 
induced to resign his office in her behalf. With this 
pledge, she prepared to leave her native land. Her 
widowed mother, Antoinette of Bourbon, was wasting 
away at Joinville, under the rayless gloom of cher- 
ished mourning for the dead, and self-inflicted morti- 
fications, heightened by the sympathy she extorted 
from all around her. To this mother, sitting in the 
shadow of death, a weeping monument of inexorable 
despair,* Mary of Guise, with filial respect, made a 
toilsome journey. Entering the ample apartments 
of the maternal mansion, which were hung in black, 
she communed for the last time with a spirit, beneath 
whose surface, calm with habitual grief, burned in- 
tensely a persecuting intoleration towards heretics. 
From the tomb of the living she hastened again to 
Fontainebleau, to bid adieu to Mary Stuart ; and 



30 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

breaking away from the ties of family and country, 
embarked for England, to consummate her ambitious 
plans. 

The parting look was her last upon Mary ; they met 
no more this side the vale of eternal scenes. The ed- 
ucation of the young Princess was continued with daz- 
zling progress. Living in the atmosphere of literature, 
where the King's daughters were linguists, and the arts 
a theme of constant criticism, her genius outshone the 
more mature, lending its fascination to her unrivaled 
beauty of person. At ten years of age, she wrote the 
following letter to the Queen Dowager, concerning 
the affairs of Scotland, with a practical sense and pre- 
cision which astonished even her admirers, as an ex- 
hibition of precocious talents and culture, both in 
science and belleslettres, and in the policy of ambi- 
tious sovereigns : 

"1552. 

" Madame — I have received the letters which you 
have been pleased to write me by Aztus Asquin, by 
which I have learnt the pleasure you have felt that I 
have kept secret the things which it pleased you to 
send to me. I can assure you, madame, that nothing 
that comes from you shall be known by me (tie sera 
seen, par may) I humbly beg you to be- 
lieve that I shall not fail to obey you in everything in 
which you are pleased to command me, and to think 
that the chief wish I have in the world is to be obe- 
dient and agreeable to you, doing you every possible 
service, as I am bound. I have seen, by your letters, 
that you beg me to approve the marriage-gift of the 



MART QUEEN OF SOOTS. 31 

late M. Asquin to his son, who is here. I humbly en- 
treat you never to give me anything but your com- 
mands, as to your very humble and very obedient 
daughter and servant, for otherwise I shall not think 
I have the happiness of being in your good graces. 
As for my master, I will do as you have told me. I 
have shown the letters you have been pleased to write 
to me to my uncle, Monsieur de Guise, thinking that 
you would wish it, though, after the directions you 
have given me, I should not have shown them but 
that I was afraid I could not arrange things without 
his help. I write two other letters with my own hand ; 
the one concerning Mde. de Parroys, and the other 
for my master, that you may be able to show that of 
my said master without this, so that they may not 
think that you have told me anything about it. . . 
. . I should have written to you in cipher, but my 
secretary has told me that it was not necessary, and 
that he was writing to you in cipher. I write also to 
my natural brother, (frere dastard,) according to the" 
advice of my uncle, M. de Guise. The said letters 
are open, in order that you may deliver them if you 
approve of them." 

Music, poetry, drawing, the exciting pleasures of 
the chase, aquatic excursions, and social scenes, were 
crowded into the premature experience of Mary. 
On one occasion, riding at full speed in pursuit of a 
stag, attended by a party of the nobility, her dress 
caught in the boughs of a tree, and in a moment she 
was unhorsed, andlying upon the turf. The company 



32 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

passed on without seeing the fallen Queen. Iler 
coolness was admirable ; she made no outcry, and 
when her steed was brought back, she arranged her 
disheveled hair, and remounting, again dashed for- 
ward in the chase. 

The following letter, written about this time, when 
Mary was twelve years old, and addressed to her 
mother, gives a glimpse of the careful guardianship 
with which she was environed, and of her filial 
temper : 

" Madame — I have been well pleased to find so 
good an opportunity to write you, as I still remain 
here in this place of Mendon, with madame, my 
grand-mother, where the King and the Queen are to 
come Thursday next, to the baptism of my little cousin. 
My uncle, the cardinal, has informed me that all the 
lords of my kingdom are well disposed to obey you, 
and to do for you, as well as for myself, whatever you 
.may please to command them, for which I am very 
grateful, and well pleased, desiring very much to hear 
your news, and awaiting which, I present my very 
humble compliments to your good grace — praying 
God to give you, madame, happiness and long life, I 
am your very humble and very obedient daughter 
Mary. Madame, once more I thank you." 

A year later she composed a Latin speech, and re- 
cited it in the presence of the Iving, the Queen, and 
the entire court, assembled in the hall of the Louvre. 
The Cardinal of Lorraine wrote to her mother in the 
following strain of eulogy : 



MABY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 33 

" Your daughter has so increased, and indeed in- 
creases daily in height, goodness, beauty, wisdom, and 
virtues, that she is as perfect and accomplished in all 
things honest and virtuous as it is possible for her to 
be ; and there is no one like her to be found in this 
kingdom, either among noble ladies or others, of what- 
ever low or mean condition and quality they may be : 
and I am constrained to tell you, madame, that the 
King takes such a liking to her, that he often passes 
his time in chatting with her for the space of an hour ; 
and she knows quite well how to entertain him with 
good and wise conversation, as if she were a woman 
twenty-five years of age." 

The homage paid to Mary's beauty and graceful 
mien was universal. 

Upon a grand religious occasion, when a magnifi- 
cent procession moved at evening, each lady bearing 
aloft in her right hand a lighted torch, and in her left 
waiving a plam of victory, it is recorded that a wo- 
man, with superstitious wonder, approached Mary, 
while her beaming face reflected the brightness of her 
beacon, and exclaimed, " Are you not indeed an an- 
gel ?" Mary also excelled in the art of embroidery, 
then a popular and essential part of female education, 
and which she cultivated, together with the invention 
of heraldic arid other devices, under the eye of the 
dignified, refined and imperious Catherine, the Queen 
of France. It is related by Conseus, that while Mary 
Stuart was passing the limited hours, with the King's 
daughters, in the royal apartment, she "had neither 
B* 3 



34 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

eye nor ear but for her elect step-mother ; she eagerly 
treasured every word that fell from her lips, watched 
her looks, imitated her motions, and evidently was 
anxious to form herself upon the accomplished model 
before her." The same writer adds, that when Cath- 
erine inquired of the princess, why she preferred her 
society to the companionship of youthful persons, the 
womanly maiden replied, " that with them she might, 
indeed, enjoy much, but could learn nothing; whilst 
in her Majesty's wisdom and affability she found an 
example and a guide for her future life." Catherine 
smiled at the reply, as an idle compliment. She nat- 
urally felt her maternal pride wounded by the trans- 
cendent attractions of her protege in contrast with her 
own daughters, and fearing future rivalry in the claim 
to royal honors, soon betrayed a secret enmity towards 
the unoffending Mary. 

Contemplating the extraordinary endowments of 
the fair exile, with her subsequent history before the 
mind, who can suppress a rising sadness in view of 
the beauteous victim, having all of life that was joy- 
ous, and kept like a pagan offering in the temple of 
sacrifice, caressed and crowned with garlands, for 
the altar. 

And it cannot be denied that Mary Stuart's heart 
and conscience were continually in danger ; if neither 
were stained by her friendships and contacts with the 
accomplished and unprincipled nobility, she were a 
greater marvel than the Hebrew amid the convivial 
population of the cities, from which he fled to escape 
the retributive storm. Her guardian uncle, Cardinal 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 35 

of Lorraine, stamped upon her religions character his 
own hostility to John Knox and the spirit of reform, 
which mnst have modified those sensibilities that are 
refined by a pnre Christianity. Thus, at the age of 
fifteen, the fairest princess of Europe is a fascinating, 
flattered, and educated maiden ; virtuous, but her 
gentle spirit expanding in a tainted air ; conscientious 
in religious duties, but according to the unsoftened 
dogmas of an ancient and persecuting faith. Realms 
and their sovereigns are deeply interested in the des- 
tiny of the exiled daughter of the House of Stuart — 
a destiny which at this early age reached an exciting 
and decisive turn, in its gay and onward march to the 
abyss of human woe. 



CHAPTER II. 

JTHE DATJPniN MARY'S ATTACHMENT TO IIIM THE TREACHEROUS CONDI- 
TIONS OF MARRIAGE THE MAGNIFICENT NUPTIALS THE COMMISSIONERS' 

RETURN TO SCOTLAND REJOICINGS AND DEVELOPMENTS ELIZABETH 

ASCENDS THE THRONE OF ENGLAND HER PERSON AND CHARACTER — 

HENRY OF FRANCE MAKES HER THE RIVAL OF MARY STUART CHANGES 

IN THE FRENCH COURT DEATH OF HENRY II. RESULTS THE DAU- 

PHIN'S JOY AT HIS ELEVATION TO THE THRONE THE CONDITION OF 

AFFAIRS IN SCOTLAND THE REGENT'S DEATH TREATY OF PEACE 

DEATH OF FRANCIS II. MARY'S MOURNING ELIZABETH'S CONDOLENCE 

FOREIGN AMBASSADORS CATHERINE'S JEALOUSY MARY PREPARES 

TO RETURN TO SCOTLAND LETTER OF THE LAIRD OF LETHINGTON — 

NEGOTIATIONS THE QUEEN'S JOURNEYINGS ELIZABETH REFUSES A 

SAFE CONDUCT MARY'S DEPARTURE HER ADIEU. 

Francis, son of Henry II. and Catherine de Medici, 
was born at Fontaineblean, January 19, 1544 ; and 
was, therefore, about a year younger than Mary Stuart, 
by whom, from early childhood, he had been regarded 
as her future husband. This was the arrangement of 
royal policy ; and the youthful heirs to sovereignty 
had, during the pastimes of childhood within the same 
palace, formed a mutual affection. The Dauphin* 
was Constitutionally and mentally weak, yet amiable, 
and when aroused, energetic. His personal appear- 

* So called from the ancient province of Dauphiny, a prince of 
which, upon the loss of his only son, bequeathed his large estates 
to the King, on condition that the eldest son of the reigning mon- 
arch of France should thereafter bear the title of Dauphin. 



MARY-QUEEN OF SCOTS. 37 

ance was plain, and his disposition extremely retiring. 
Shrinking with timid sensibility from responsibilities, 
he was neither formed to command, nor win the pop- 
ular homage. Although Mary- was in all respects his 
superior, eclipsing by the splendor of her talents, his 
ordinary endowments, and fond of learning as he was 
of intellectual indolence, she evidently loved him for 
his virtuous habits and enthusiastic devotion to her, 
whose smile and pleasant words would always kindle 
into animation, the habitual repose of his yet juvenile 
features. But had she even felt a repugnance to the al- 
liance, so completely was she under the influence of her 
uncles, Duke of Guise, who was at the head of mili- 
tary affairs, and Cardinal of Lorraine, who controlled 
the clergy and finances, that her real sentiments 
would not have been revealed by lips which were 
carefully trained to the concealment of kingly de- 
signs and motives. Whatever the depth of Mary's 
love, the nuptials were appointed to be celebrated on 
Sunday, April 24th, 1558. Catherine opposed the 
marriage as premature, while the secret reason was 
the glory of the princess, in conflict with the hopes 
of her own aspiring family. The Protestants of Scot- 
land, also, desired to defeat a union which threatened 
the dawning reformation with powerful restraint, if 
not temporary overthrow. So bitter was the animos- 
ity, that, according to historical anecdote, Stewart, an 
archer in King Henry's guard, attempted to poison 
Mary, but was detected and beheaded. There were 
other factions at home and abroad, hostile to the ap- 
proaching marriage. All these sources of solicitude 



38 MARY QUEEN OF BOOTS. 

stimulated I [enry to consummate the favorite purpose 
of Ins heart. Ld the meantime, on the 31st of Octo- 
ber, 1557, he wrote to the parliament of Scotland, In- 
viting them to send a deputation to Paris, and sanc- 
tion the marriage in the name of their kingdom, and 
attend the ceremonies of the wedding* December 
14th, Parliament met, and, assured by the regent's 
plausible representation, appointed nine commission- 
em to fulfill the royal request. These were, Arch- 
bishop of Glasgow; the Bishops of Koss and Orkney; 
the Earls of Rothes and Cassillis ; and Lords James 
Stuart, James Fleming, George Seaton and John 
Erskine of Dim. They were instructed to secure as 
an indispensable condition of approval, from boththe 
Queen and ihe Dauphin, " a promise to preserve the 
integrity of the kingdom, and observe its ancient laws 
and liberties." We now have to record a treacherous 
act, matured and completed by a corrupt court, but 
in which Mary was a party by consent. She was 
only a maiden, truly, but a tender conscience and 
resolnto will would have dared, for honor's sake, to 
offend unscrupulous aspirants for crowns. On the 
4th of April, Mary signed, at Fontaineblean, two se- 
cret acts of sweeping and dangerous import. The 
first of these acts was a full and free donation of Scot- 
land to the Kings of Prance, in consideration of the 
services which those monarchs had at all times ren- 
dered to Scotland, by defending her against the Eng- 
lish, her ancient and mveterate enemies, and especially 
for the assistance which she had received from King 
Henry IT , who had maintained her independence at 



MAJ2Y QUEEN OF SCOTS. 39 

his own expense during the minority of her Queen. 
"The second act seemed framed merely to meet 
the case of the non-execution of the first, in which 
she also conveyed to him any claims which might ac- 
crue to her upon England and Ireland. The usufruct 
of the kingdom of Scotland was granted to the King 
of France, until he should have been repaid the sums 
which he had expended in her defence. Estimating 
these sums at a million of pieces of eight, which Scot- 
land, in her existing state of poverty, could not re- 
store, Mary Stuart ordained that the King of France 
should have the enjoyment of her kingdom until they 
were entirely liquidated. With the consent of her 
uncles, the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lor- 
raine, whose opinion she had consulted on the matter, 
she thus placed Scotland in pledge for debts which 
Scotland had never accepted." 

April 19th, the youthful Queen entered into the 
most solemn engagements with the commissioners, 
directly in opposition to her private pledges. 

" The eldest son sprung of this marriage was to be 
King of France, and, if daughters only were born, 
the eldest of them was to become Queen of Scotland, 
to receive four hundred thousand crowns as a daugh- 
ter of France, and not to marry without the consent 
of both the estates of Scotland and the King of 
France ; the Dauphin was to assume the title and 
arms of King of Scotland, and if he died after 
his accession to the throne of France, the Queen, his 
widow, was to receive a jointure of six hundred thou- 
sand livres," 



40 MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 

"Without the prospect of ultimate benefit to Henry, 
the conflicting articles of agreement were a sad lesson 
for Mary in the art of royal treachery. The glow of 
virtuous feeling must lose intensity by such contact 
and yielding, and the lovely instrument of ambitious 
princes did not escape the inevitable result. This 
was the day of her betrothment, and in conformity 
with custom, it was performed in the great hall of the 
Louvre ; the scene was private, and closed with a 
brilliant ball. Paris was now alive with preparation 
for the public celebration of the nuptials. 

The workmen were busy with the church of Notre 
Dame, erecting a covered gallery to connect with the 
Episcopal palace of the Bishoj), affording to the spec- 
tators through its long vista, a view of the royal pro- 
cession when it entered. It was lined with purple 
velvet, and embossed with rich and elaborite orna- 
ments, and opened at the cathedral into an amphi- 
theater of grand outline and finished proportions. 
The Sabbath dawned, and the throngs of excited 
people were hastening towards the ample area, to 
witness the dazzling pageant, which was called in 
honor of the event celebrated, the Triumph. A royal 
canopy, strown with the Jleurs de lis, which were 
symbols of reverence and marriage, hung over the 
entrance of Notre Dame, around which stood the pa- 
pal legate, archbishops and prelates, in their sacer- 
dotal robes. Military bands, with the music of Swiss 
melodies, joined the imposing group of prelatical 
magnates. 

"After these came the Duke of Guise, as grand- 



MARY QUEDN OF SCOTS. 41 

master of tlie King's household, who, having with his 
accustomed dignity, saluted the Bishop of Paris, Car- 
dinal Eustathius du Bellay, and the princes of the 
blood, turned towards the assembled crowd, and per- 
ceiving that they were impeded in their view, waved 
his hand, and signified to the grandees that they 
should retire, for the accommodation of the lower or- 
ders, whilst he himself marshaled the procession, 
which was heralded by music. The performers wore 
an uniform of yellow and red ; but endless was the 
variety of their harmonious strains, in which the 
trumpet and the lute, the bass-viol and the flageolet, 
the violin and hautboy, all intermingled in harmoni- 
ous concert : immediately after followed the two hun- 
dred gentlemen attached to the King's person ; next, 
the princes of the blood, with their immediate at- 
tendants ; bishops and abbots, before whom were 
borne their crosiers and mitres, the ensigns of their 
dignity ; a cluster of high-capped cardinals, among 
w T hom were conspicuous John of Bourbon, Charles of 
Lorraine, and John of Guise ; lastly, came the Pope's 
legate, before whom was borne a cross of massive 
gold ; after these marched the Dauphin Francis, con- 
ducted by the King of Navarre. Although his feeble 
and ill-proportioned figure was plainly contrasted with 
the tall martial form of Anthony of Bourbon, the im- 
pression was somewhat relieved by the presence of 
his two younger brothers, the Dukes of Orleans and 
Angouleme. Far different was the sensation created 
by the appearance of his fair bride, affectionately 
supported by her father-in-law, the King of France, 



42 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

and who was also attended by her youthful kinsman, 
the Duke of Lorraine : though she had not completed 
her sixteenth year, her stature rose considerably above 
the female standard ; but so perfect was the symme- 
try of her form, and so graceful were her movements, 
that even this lofty height but gave to her person an 
air of mingled dignity and elegance, that added to 
her attractions. On this day, Brantome describes her, 
as "more beautiful and charming than a celestial 
goddess ; for as every eye dwelt with rapture on her 
face, every voice echoed her praise ; whilst, univer- 
sally, in the court and city it was re-echoed, happy, 
thrice happy, the prince who should call her his, even 
though she should have had neither crown nor scep- 
tre to bestow !" Unlike Brantome, the frigid chron- 
icler, instead of expatiating on Mary's charms, des- 
cants with much energy on her superb attire : " The 
robe, white as the lily with which it was embroidered, 
but so prodigally rich and gorgeous, glittering with 
diamonds and silver, as to be too dazzling for words 
to describe." Her sweeping train was borne by two 
young girls, whom grace and beauty fitted for 
the office ; her neck was encircled with a diamond 
carcanet, from which was suspended a ring of inesti- 
mable value ; on her head she wore a golden coronet, 
encircled with precious stones, in which the diamond, 
the ruby, and the emerald contended for magnifi- 
cence, and in the centre of the coronet shone a car- 
bunkle valued at live hundred crowns. Although it 
was impossible but that such habiliments should have 
attracted the vulgar eye, we may be permitted to sus- 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 43 

pect, that they rather disguised than embellished a 
youthful beauty; nor is it an equivocal proof of 
Mary's superior grace, that under all this pomp and 
state, she preserved her accustomed elegance and un- 
embarrassed movements. Behind the young Queen 
(not without secret envy) walked Catherine de Me- 
dicls, with the Prince de Conde ; after whom follow- 
ed, in due gradation, Madame Marguerite, the Queen 
of Navarre, and an almost interminable train of 
ladies. 

When the procession had reached the great door of 
the church, the King drew from his linger a ring, 
which he gave to the Archbishop of Eouen, who, 
having placed it on the young Queen's finger, pro- 
nounced the nuptial benediction. Mutual congratula- 
tions followed, and Mary gracefully saluted her hus- 
band by the title of King of Scots. The Scottish 
deputies, whom the chronicler does not once 'deign 
to mention, followed her example ; after which, the 
Archbishop of Paris delivered a suitable discourse, 
which, probably, extorted not much attention. In 
the mean time, the Duke of Guise had succeeded in 
his efforts to induce the nobles to open a vista to the 
people, who stood clustering in the streets, at the win- 
dows, on turrets, and scaffoldings, to catch a glimpse 
of the imposing spectacle ; but not even his vigilance 
and activity were adequate to the task of preserving 
order and decorum among the motley crowd; and 
when, according to custom, the heralds, having pro- 
claimed largess, in the name of the King and Queen 
of Scots, began to shower money on the people : 



44 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

"Then," says the chronicler, "yon might have wit- 
nessed the tumult and confusion of the mnltitnde ; 
some, in their avidity, precipitating themselves on 
their companions, others fainting, whilst many were 
strip t of hats, cloaks, or even skirts ; so terrible was 
the conflict, that at length even the populace, in dis- 
may unutterable, implored the heralds to desist from 
throwing among them the golden bait of discord." 

The bridal procession advanced to the choir, or 
main space of the edifice, under the royal canopy, 
and celebrated mass. This was followed by a costly 
collation in the bishop's palace, and then a ball. At 
five o'clock in the evening the royal train returned to 
their palace. The two Queens of France sat together 
in a litter escorted by cardinals ; Henry and Francis 
rode on horseback, and after them on richly capari- 
soned steeds came the ladies of princely rank. The 
Duke of Guise presided over the ceremonies of the 
evening entertainment. The King's band of a hun- 
dred men, poured through the ample apartment, 
strains of ravishing music. While the guests were 
becoming animated with the prospective pleasures, 
twelve artificial horses, mantled in golden cloth, en- 
tered with the motion of life, and bestrode by sons 
of the nobility. ISText came a company of pilgrims, 
each reciting a poem ; then were ushered into the 
hall six diminutive galleys, "covered like Cleopatra's 
barge, with cloth of gold and crimson velvet ; so skill- 
fully contrived as to appear to glide through the 
waves, sometimes rolling, sometimes tacking, then 
veering, as if agitated by a sudden swell of the tidq 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 45 

till the delicate silken sails were cracked asunder." 
Upon the deck of each sat a cavalier, who, while the 
miniature navy moved along, in turn sprang to land, 
and seized a fair lady, bearing her to a vacant chair 
ready for her reception. After these splendid pano- 
ramic scenes there was a grand tournament, in which 
Francis, from physical debility, was forbidden to 
break a lance. For fifteen days this extravagant and 
resplendent festivity continued. An English writer* 
gives the following translation from Buchanan, a poet 
of that period, who describes Mary's beauty : 

"For say, if met as once on Ida's height, 
The assembled gods had held their awful state ; 
Heard thy young vow, and to thy prayer had given, 
In wedded love, the choicest boon of heaven ; 
What brighter form could meet thy ravish'd sight, 
Or fill thy bosom with its pure delight ? 
On her fair brow a regal grace she wears, 
While youth's own lustre on her cheek appears ; 
And soft the rays from those bright eyes that gleam, 
Whose temper'd light and chasten'd radiance seem, 
As thought mature had given the beams of truth, 
Gently to mingle with the fire of youth." 

There is a tribute to the brave and hardy people of 
Scotland, whose worth Mary did not overvalue, from 
her foreign education : 

"I will not tell of Scotia's fertile shores, 
Or mountain tracts that teem with choicest ores, 
Or living streams, from sources rich, that flow, 
For other regions nature's bounties show — 
(And thirst of wealth alone their souls employ, 

*Miss Benger. 



46 MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 

"Whose gi'ov'ling spirits feel no loftier joy.) 

But this her own, and this her proudest fame, 

The strength, the virtue, of her sons to claim. 

'Tis theirs in early chase to rouse the wood, 

And fearless theirs to hreast the foaming flood. 

A land beloved to guard in many a field, 

Their swords her bulwark, and their breasts her shield; 

'Tis theirs to prize pure fame, ev'n life above, 

Firmly their faith to keep, their God to love. 

And while stern war its banner wide unfurl' d, 

Terror and change o'er half the nations hurl'd ; 

This the proud charter that in ages gone, 

Saved their lov'd freedom and its ancient throne. 

To the parliament of this nation, the commissioners 
returned, believing their instructions faithfully fulfill- 
ed ; and December following the marriage of Mary, 
their mission and its results were ratified by that body, 
and the matrimonial crown was bestowed upon Fran- 
cis. It was also ordered that future acts be published 
in the name of "Francis and Mary, King and Queen 
of Scotland, Dauphin and Dauphiness of Yienne." 

The youthful sovereigns retired to a country resi- 
dence near Paris, while the highlands of Scotland 
echoed back the shouts, and shone with the illumina- 
tions of popular rejoicing, as the tidings of the marriage 
spread. But these soon died away before the practi- 
cal developments that succeeded the surface excite- 
ment of a kingdom. 

The Queen Dowager having secured her object, 
began to show without disguise her French affinities, 
in official appointments and treating carelessly those 
whose influence she had before feared. This palpable 
change in the exercise of her sovereignty, gave a de- 



MAFwY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 47 

cisive blow to the supremacy of foreign views; it 
broke the spell of quiet control which had stolen over 
the people from the court of France. Another cause 
of threatening disquietude was the conflict of Calvin- 
ism with prelacy. The Queen of Navarre, and other 
distinguished subjects of Henry, warmly espoused the 
cause of reform, sustained as it was by intellect, in- 
telligence, and purity of both worship and life. In 
Scotland, the Earl of Arran sympathised with the re- 
formers. Just as this crisis was reached, Mary Tudor 
of England died, and the Protestant Elizabeth ascen- 
ded the throne, restoring immediately, on the second 
downfall of popery, the faith of her father, Henry 
Yin., and of her brother, Edward YI. Soon as this 
new order of things was established, introduced No- 
vember, 1558, Mary Stuart's relation to England as- 
sumed an aspect widely different from that occupied 
before, and modified essentially the condition of fac- 
tions in her native realm. Elizabeth was declared by 
the French court, in accordance with the Catholic 
sentiment, illegitimate ; and Mary, as a direct descend- 
ant of Henry YIL, through Margaret Tudor, was 
deemed heir to the crown. The King of France, with 
a strange infatuation, ordered the arms of England to 
be quartered on the regal escutcheon with those of 
Scotland, proclaiming by the act, the assumed right 
and the aspiration to the sceptre of England, in be- 
half of the Dauphin and Dauphiness. These disclo- 
sures naturally aroused the fiery spirit of the English 
Queen, who saw in Mary her rival to royalty and 
glory. Under the bloody reign of her sister, she had 



48 MABY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

lived in comparative seclusion, dissembling the reli 
gious faith and strong feelings, which were cherished 
like subterranean fires, beneath an exterior haughtily 
calm, and delusively smiling. Giovanni Michele, the 
Yenitian ambassador, describes her person, accom- 
plishments, and hints at her character, in his records 
of the times, when Elizabeth was twenty-three years 
of age : 

" She is no less remarkable in body than in mind, 
although her features are rather agreeable than beau- 
tiful. She is tall in person and well-made ; her com- 
plexion is brilliant though rather dark. She has fine 
eyes ; but above all, a splendid hand, which she is 
very fond of showing. She possesses great tact and 
ability, as she has abundantly proved by the wise way 
in which she has conducted herself in the midst of 
the suspicions of which she was the object, and of the 
perils which surrounded her. She surpasses the 
Queen, her sister, in her knowledge of languages. 
Besides English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Latin, 
which she knows as well as her sister, she has no 
slight acquaintance with Greek. She is haughty and 
high-spirited. Although born of a mother beheaded 
for adultery, she esteems herself no less highly than 
the Queen, her sister, and considers herself equally 
legitimate. It is said that she is very much like the 
King, her father, to whom she was always very dear 
on that account, and who had her as well educated 
as the Queen, and made an equal provision for their 
both in his will." 

Elizabeth was clearly Mary Stuart's superior in vig 



MART QUEEN" OF SCOTS. 49 

orous intellect, masculine judgment, and general force 
of character ; while she was her equal^if not in beau- 
ty, in mental culture and the fascination of a lively 
imagination. Though less gentle and winning than 
her rival, she was endowed with the qualities of a 
great and successful Queen. Surrounding herself 
with a cabinet of strong minds and devoted hearts, 
she swayed them and her subjects with a will which 
disdained counsel, only as an expression of views 
which might strengthen, without controlling her own 
unbiased decisions. She declared this independence 
with self-glorying, when she said, " that she would let 
the world know that there was in England a woman 
who acted like a man, and who was awed neither by 
a constable of Montmorency, like the King of France, 
nor by a bishop of Anas, like the King of Spain." 
The reformers and restive parties of Scotland found a 
friend in the English sovereign, and these events ri- 
pened the royal collision; when changes in France 
gave a new form and interest to the struggle for do- 
minion. 

The 26th of June, 1559, was appointed for the ©%> 
pousals of Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of He;/iry, 
to Philip of Spain. The order of arrangements re- 
sembled that of Mary's marriage. Txie princess 
passed the night of the 24th in the "bishop's palace, 
and was led to the altar of Nofce Dame through a 
covered gallery, attended with the lavish display of 
royal treasures, which never failed, whether the poor 
and toiling masses w^re fed, or lifting their piteous 
cry for bread. Tlie bride appeared in robes of golden 
4 



50 MAEY QTJEEN OF SCOTS. 

texture, studded with diamonds, her brow resplendent 
witli a crown of jewels, beneath which beamed her 
dark and expressive eyes, while the flush of excite- 
ment betrayed a sensitive nature, oppressed with the 
burden of queenly honors. This gorgeous scene was 
succeeded by banquets and balls, with the usual pa- 
geant of a grand tournament. 

The Place Antoine was selected for the field of 
contest. 

An ample theatre was erected for the spectators, 
and crowded with noble and anxious beholders. 
Never before was gathered to such an entertainment 
so great an assemblage of foreign princes, ambassa- 
dors, and generals. The national costumes and the 
insignia of rank bewildered the eye. That vain glory 
which had emblazoned on the heraldic scroll Mary's 
claim to the sceptre of England, displayed the device 
on the Dauphin's banners, carried' by his band, who 
opened the jousts. The British ambassadors frowned, 
and the attendants of the fair Stuart exclaimed, as she 
was borne to her royal balcony, "Place, place for the 
Queen of England !" There can be no apology for 
this insult to Elizabeth of England, which foreshad- 
owed future sorrow. 

The next day King Henry entered the lists. His 
fine figure and stately bearing were well set off by 
his black and white costume ; and near him rode the 
Duke of Guise, who, in honor of a remembered beauty, 
wore a crimson livery. The monarch won victo- 
ries, and was applauded by the excited multitude. 
The third day of the tournament, he was riding, 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 51 

"with a heart animated and proud with success, over 
the plain strown with the tokens of conflict, when 
he discovered two unbroken lances. Seizing one 
of them, he challenged Count Montgommeri to wield 
the other. The count hesitated, and the King's 
family sent messages of expostulation, as if a dread 
presentiment of evil had clouded their joy. But 
flushed and ardent, he ordered Montgommeri to 
wheel for combat. The signal was given, and amidst 
the wild acclamations of the people, the brave steeds, 
bore their riders toward the decisive encounter, 
Henry's martial air was never more kingly, as ho 
dashed toward the graceful Montgommeri. The lar.- 
ces met, and Henry reeled in his saddle, while a hush, 
then cries of alarm, followed the tragical close of pop- 
ular rejoicings. A splinter of the count's lance had 
pierced the visor, and when the helmet was lifted, 
large red drops oozed from his death-wound. H'j 
exonerated his victor from blame, and after suffering 
-eleven days, died July 10th, 1559. 

Pasquier, in his annals of those times, gives the* 
impression made on the public mind by this fatal 
combat. He alludes to the alliance and treaty with 
Philip of Spain, and the persecution of Protestants, 
which followed a union of the Catholic monarchs, se- 
cured by the interference of a Jesuitical monk. Pas- 
quier will not allow what strikes the serious student 
of history as altogether probable, that Henry's fate 
was a rebuke from Heaven, of his vaunting ambi- 
tion. 

" This deplorable catastrophe has given rise to va- 



52 MARY QTJEEN OF SOOTS. 

rious sinister reflections ; and there are some who 
fancy they discover in it the visible retribution of 
Providence, since, if we may credit the assertions of 
Cardinal Lorraine, the King had hurried the peace 
purposely, that he might be at leisure to extirpate by 
force, the heresy of Calvin. With this view, he sud- 
denly presented himself to the parliament, on the 10th 
of June, to collect the various opinions of the members, 
of whom the majority recommended the suspension 
of penal laws, and the convocation of a general coun- 
cil. In the course of these deliberations, the King, 
having heard certain sentiments, with which he was 
justly offended, ordered several of the orators to be 
taken into custody. They were instantly conveyed to 
the Bastille, whence, according to certain sinister in- 
terpreters, the evil has lighted upon him by the spe- 
cial will of God, for having interrupted men in the 
exercise of their official duties. It is also observed 
that, as it was on the 10th of June that he consijrneds^ 
the counselors to the Bastille, so it was on the 10th oaj 
July that he received the stroke of death ; thus rea- 
son the misjudging multitude, who speak from pass» 
sion rather than reason. But it is a singular fact that 
he should have commenced his reign on the 10th of 
June, with the combat of Jarnac and la Chataigne- 
raie ; and that, on the 10th of July, it was terminated 
in consequence of his combat with Montgommeri. . 



" His corpse lies in state in the very hall which he 
had erected for the celebration of the nuptial festivi- 
ties. The constable, in disgrace, watches the corpse ; 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 53 

the Guises are omnipotent, the young King having 
espoused their niece ; the queen-mother is greatly 
commiserated ; and consternation universally prevails 
with the people." 

During the last moments of Henry, amid the la- 
mentations and tears of relatives, according to Mary's 
desire, Cardinal Lorraine and Duke of Guise were 
selected as the future ministers of the Dauphin. 
To complete the arrangements for a permanent har- 
mony with foreign sovereigns, Margaret, the younger 
sister of Francis, was privately married to the Duke 
of Savoy, in the light of torches, with an ejoithalam- 
ium of convulsive sobs, and the almost audible gasp- 
ing of the dying monarch. Francis was confined 
to his couch in the palace of Tournelles, when the 
officers of state entered his apartment, and announced 
his father's death, on the bended knee of loyalty, by 
saluting him King. As if an unearthly voice had 

L^ent the health-thrill along his nerves, he sprang from 
his bed, and declared he was well. Such is the mas* 

^ery of ambition ; it gives to boyhood the front of a 
heartless triner with human affection and the soul's 
departure to eternal scenes, and like the eagle whose 
eye confronts the sun, it gazes restlessly though vainly 
upon the veiled splendor of the "White Throne." 
Scarcely had Francis conferred with his counselors, 
before his mother joined them, to accompany him to 
the Louvre, where would be offered the usual con- 
gratulations and homage, upon the transfer of a crown 
to the brow of a successor. Mary silently followed 
in the train, when Catherine, who saw the declining 



54: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

glory of her family, in the elevation of the Guises, 
said to her, " Pass on, madam ; it is now for yon to 
take precedence." The young Queen acknowledged 
the civility, but on reaching the chariot, refused to en- 
ter, until the desponding and ambitious widow passed 
in before her. The Dauphin was crowned at Rheims, 
where that ceremony had long been performed, and 
immediately assumed the reins of government. In 
the meantime, the revolution in Scotland, remotely kin- 
dled by the resurrection tones of Luther's voice, and, 
favored by the brave martyr, "Wishart, and the fear- 
less Knox, had gone forward among the people. 
Lord James Stuart, the Queen's brother, Lord John 
Erskine, and Lord Lorn, had joined the standard of 
the bold reformer, with other influential barons, and 
formed themselves into religious congregations. 
Wherever Knox was summoned by the offended 
priesthood, he scattered the live coals of truth upon 
the popular mind. At length, emboldened and en- 
♦#uraged by success, he appealed to the regent, Ma- 
ry of Lorraine, for royal sanction to the new doctrines. 
She met his demand with scorn, and assured him it 
was time to interpose a barrier to the waves of revo- 
lution, dangerous both to church and state. Knox 
was obliged to fly from the wrathful enemy to his re- 
treat — Geneva, the home of Calvin. Soon after follow- 
ed the solemn covenant proposed by the exiled re- 
former, which was a mutual pledge by the Protest- 
ants to openly expose the corruptions of Pome, and 
worship God according to their own conscience. 
They farther formed an insurrectionary government, 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 55 

called the Lords of the Congregation, which prepared 
the way for bloody collision with the state. 

The regent, elated with prosperity in her favorite 
plans, became more intolerant, until she virtually de- 
clared civil war, by affirnling the decisions of the 
bishops against heretics, and declaring her purpose 
to restore, on the overthrow of the reformers, the uni- 
versal sway of the Catholic church. Some of the 
fiercest battles of the Covenanters were fought about 
the time Henry of France received the fatal lance of 
Montgommeri. An armistice, extending to July 24th, 
1560, followed. 

This interlude was employed by the regent in 
sending a requisition to her daughter for French 
troops, who were inactive, because of the peace of 
Cateau-Cambresis, while Knox proceeded to Berwick, 
to negotiate with the English governor for ships and 
soldiers, with which the Protestant cause might be 
sustained against foreign foes. Elizabeth's sympa- 
thies and jealousy of Mary inclined her to comply 
with his request; but she disliked both the term 
champion, who had written against female sovereign- 
ty in the state, and the Presbyterian form of the revo- 
lution. She first sent them three thousand pounds 
sterling, and after the Lords of the Congregation in 
public assembly passed a resolution, deposing the 
queen-regent, she agreed to furnish men and muni- 
tions of war, on condition of reciprocity in case the 
French turned their arms against the Queen of Eng- 
land. The revolutionary party preserved the appear- 
ance of loyalty to their sovereign, by making the 



56 MARY QTTEEN OF SCOTS. 

treaty in her name, with the promise of obedience to 
her commands in all things that did not tend to mo- 
lest the ancient laws and liberties of the land. Eliz- 
abeth replied to the charge of intervention in the 
affairs of Scotland, in the following strain, denying 
that the nobility of that realm were rebels : 

" And truly, if these barons should permit the gov- 
ernment of their kingdom to be wrested out of their 
hands during the absence of their Queen ; if they 
tamely gave up the independence of their native 
country, whilst she used the counsel, not of the Scots, 
but solely of the French, her mother and other for- 
eigners being her advisers in Scotland, and the Car- 
dinal and Duke of Guise in France, it were a good 
cause for the world to speak shame of them ; nay, if 
the young Queen herself should happen to survive her 
husband, she would in such a case have just occasion 
to condemn them all as cowards and unnatural 
subjects." 

During the long and remarkable siege of Leith, 
which followed these events, Mary of Lorraine, ex- 
hausted with anxiety and care, was taken sick, and 
conveyed to Edinburgh castle. She was soon aware 
of approaching dissolution, and asked an interview 
with the leaders of the Protestant party. The meet- 
ing was kind and affecting. She recounted the troub- 
les of her kingdom, whose burden had hastened her 
death, and advised the removal of all foreign troops," 
and an adherence to that alliance which would best 
preserve their national independence. Then embra- 
cing them with a dying kiss, she died amid their tears, 



MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 57 

June 10th, 1560. She had intellect and hewrt ; but, 
led by ambition, and ruled by French advisers, she 
embittered her widowhood, involved her enthroned 
daughter in mournful calamities, and breathed her 
last, encircled with foes instead of family friends, whom 
she left in her native clime, for the empty honors of 
a brief regency. A treaty of peace sealed after her 
decease, contained the following articles : " The 
French troops were to evacuate Scotland ; the fortifi- 
cations of Leith to be demolished ; the sovereigns of 
France cease to bear the arms and title of King and 
Queen of England ; the Duke of Chatelherault and 
other Scottish nobles who possessed property in 
France, to have restored to them the lands and titles 
of which they had been deprived since their rebellion ; 
the high offices of Chancellor, Treasurer, and Comp- 
troller to be conferred not upon ecclesiastics but upon 
laymen ; and the guardianship as well as the admin- 
istration of the kingdom never to be again entrusted 
to foreign soldiers and dignitaries. The conduct of af- 
fairs was to be confided to a council of twelve members, 
seven of whom were to be nominated by the Queen, 
and five by the estates of the realm ; and this council 
was instructed to introduce a better system into the 
government of the country. It was also agreed that 
a free Parliament should assemble in the month of 
August." 

English influence and the reformers were now fairly 
in the ascendant. 

Meanwhile the health of Francis II., which had al- 
ways been frail, rapidly failed. The Guises wera 
0* 



58 MARY QTJEEN OF SCOTS. 

busy with plans for the extermination of Protestant- 
ism in France, which, with other ambitious and law- 
less schemes, sowed the seeds of a terrible harvest for 
unhappy France. The young King was no more than 
the toy of their fancy. One day suddenly fainting, 
he was borne to his chamber to die. Mary watched 
by his bedside faithfully, whose kindness he appreci- 
ated with child-like gratitude, and for whom he de- 
sired of Catherine, his mother, maternal interest. He 
expired December 5th, 1560, separating in his death 
the crowns of Scotland and France, and suspending 
the almost imperial power of the Princes of Lorraine. 
However sincerely Mary may have mourned the loss 
of Francis as a husband, in a political view the union 
had been of disastrous omen to her future prospects. 
It had given energy and triumphs to the Reforma- 
tion, made the French odious, and shorn the regal 
authority of its strength and majesty to the Scotch 
nation. Mary saw the extent of her bereavement — 
left an orphan and widow at eighteen, and compelled 
to abandon a throne, for the regency of Catherine de 
Medicis, whose aspirations for power were so revived 
by the Stuart's affliction, that she seemed cheerfully 
to sacrifice an inefficient son. The Queen, sadly 
beautiful in her grief, retired to seclusion in the pal- 
ace, whose solitude for several weeks was broken only 
by the presence of immediate relatives. The device 
which she invented for a mourning seal, was a liquor- 
ice tree, whose root only is valuable ; beneath it was 
"Dulce meum terra tegit" — My treasure is in the 
ground. The following letter was written in answer 



MART QUEEN OP SCOTS. 59 

to messages of condolence from Philip ; and in its 
brevity exhibits a refined sense of propriety, while its 
sentiment is altogether womanly and touching : 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO KING PHILIP II. 

" To the King of Spain. 

" Monsieur my good Brother — I was unwilling to 
omit this opportunity of writing to you, to thank you 
for the polite letters you sent me by Signor Don An- 
tonio, and for the civil things which he and your em- 
bassador said to me concerning the sorrow you felt 
for the death of the late King, my lord, assuring you, 
monsieur my good brother, that you have lost in him 
the best brother you ever had, and that you have com- 
forted by your letters the most afflicted, poor woman 
under heaven, God having bereft me of all that I lov- 
ed and held dear on earth, and left me no other con- 
solation whatever but when I see those who deplore 
his loss and my too great misfortune. God will assist 
me, if he pleases, to bear what comes from him with 
patience ; as I confess that, without his aid, I should 
find so great a calamity too insupportable for my 
strength and my little virtue. But, knowing that it 
is not reasonable you should be annoyed by my let- 
ters, which can only be filled with this melancholy 
subject, I will conclude, after beseeching you to be a 
good brother to me in my affliction, and to continue 
me in your favor, to which I affectionately commend 
myself, praying God to give you, monsieur my good 
brother, as much happiness as I wish you. 
" Your very good sister and cousin, 

"Mart." 



60 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

Elizabeth, of England sent the Earl of Bedford to 
convey her condolence to her mourning rival. After 
this duty was performed, he urged the Queen, as 
Throckmorton, the English ambassador, had before 
vainly done, to ratify the treaty of Edinburgh. It is 
not singular that she continued to refuse, while her 
aspirings towards a foreign throne were cherished by 
the controlling minds of the house of Lorraine, She 
expressed the desire to have a personal interview with 
Elizabeth, and requested her portrait ; and thus ter- 
minated the two-fold mission of the earl. The Span- 
ish ambassador was among the first foreign officials 
admitted to the presence of Mary, and Catherine saw 
in the incident the foreshadowing of an oifer of mar- 
riage to Don Carlos, son of Philip II. 

The sovereigns of Sweden and Denmark also as- 
pired to a similar honor. The regent of France, from 
suspicion of an alliance unfavorable to her augment- 
ing power, or prompted by a cherished antipathy to 
Mary, intimated to the duke and cardinal her wish 
to have the attractive young Queen more remote from 
the arena of her own ambitious designs. The duke, 
therefore, who was a man of high spirit and no prin- 
ciple, persuaded his niece to depart for Rheims, where 
her mother's form was buried. Thence she was to 
visit her grand-mother, Duchess of Guise, at Joinville, 
who still lived in dismal solitude ; and, soon after 
as possible, embark for Scotland. Mary loved the 
sunny clime of France. It had been the home of her 
childhood, and her dead were there. Her sensitive 
nature recoiled from the cold air and sterner manners 



MAET QUEEN OP SCOTS. 61 

of her native land. At this crisis a letter was written 
from the " Laird of Lethington" to Sir William Cecil, 
that gives a comprehensive view of the attitnde of 
factions in Scotland, and from which a passage is quo- 
ted, disclosing the public feeling in view of Mary's 
expected advent : 

" Sir : That thus long I have delayed to write unto 
your honor, I pray, impute it only to my absence. 
I have been these forty days in the north parts of 
Scotland with my Lord James, where we have not 
been altogether unoccupied ; but so far as occasion 
would serve, advancing the religion and common 
cause. Since our returning, I have understood the 
stay of Monsieur d'Osel, and judge that you have 
wisely foreseen the inconveniences that might have 
followed upon his coming hither. I do also allow 
your opinion anent the Queen our sovereign's journey 
towards Scotland ; whose coming hither, if she be en- 
emy to the religion, and so affected towards that 
realm, as she yet appeareth, shall not fail to raise 
wonderful tragedies. Although the religion here hath 
in outward appearance the upper hand, and few or 
none there he that openly dare profess the contrary, 
yet know we the hollow hearts of a great number ', who 
would be glad to see it and us overthrown / and if 
time served, would join with her authority to that ef- 
fect : but I foresee, that the difficulty thereof shall 
make that which is most principal in intention be last 
in execution. Sure I am, the suppressing of religion 
is chiefly meant, but the same must be pressed but 



62 MARY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 

by indirect means. First of all, the comfort which we 
have of the Queen's majesty's* friendship must be cut 
off by dissolution of the intelligence begun of late ; 
which being not feasible in her absence, her own 
presence will make more easy. The Papists, you 
know, be in their hearts, for religion's sake, altogether 
enemies to this conjunction. Those that gave them- 
selves forth for Protestants be not all alike earnestly 
bent to maintain it. Some have been accustomed so 
to feed upon the French fare, that their delicate stom- 
achs cannot well digest any other. Some be so cov- 
etous, that wheresoever the lure of commodity is show- 
ed unto them, thither will they fly. Some so incon- 
stant, that they may be easily carried away by the 
countenance of their princess' presence, sometimes 
showing them a good visage, and sometimes, as oc- 
casion shall require, frowning on them. Others there 
be so careless and ignorant, that they will rather re- 
spect their present ease, which shall bring after it most 
grievous calamities, than with the hazard of a little 
present incommodity put them and theirs in full se- 
curity afterwards : these to be a great number, in our 
late danger, we had large experience ; yet I doubt not 
but the best sort will constantly and stoutly bear out 
that which they have begun. Marry, what difficulty 
and hazard shall be in it, you may judge, when the 
Queen shall so easily win to her party the whole Pa- 
pists, and so many Protestants as be either addicted 

* Elizabeth, — a correspondence with whose ministers had com- 
menced during the commotions in Scotland, and was regularly con- 
tinued till her death. 



MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 63 

to the French faction,* covetous, inconstant, uneasy, 
ignorant, or careless. So long as her highness is ab- 
sent, in this case, there is no peril ; but you may 
judge what the presence of a prince, being craftily 
counseled, is able to bring to pass. Every man once 
in a year hath to do with his prince's benevolence ; 
if at that time, when his particular business occurreth, 
her countenance shall be but strange to him in sight 
of the peril, in what case shall the subject then be? 
Every man hath in his private causes some enemy or 
unfriend : what boldness shall they not take, seeing 
an advantage, and knowing their adversary to be out 
of the prince's good grace ? She will not be served 
with those that bear any good- will to England. Some 
quarrel shall be picked to them, not directly for reli- 
gion at the first ; but where the accusation of heresy 
would be odious, men must be charged with treason. 
The like of this in that realm, I think, hath been seen 
in Queen Mary's days ; a few number thus disgraced, 
dispatched, or dispersed, the rest will be an easy 
prey, and then may the butchery of Bonner plainly 
begin. I make not this discourse as our meaning to 
debar her majesty from her kingdom, or that we would 
wish she should never come home (for that were the 
part of an unnatural subject,) but rather desiring such 
things as be necessary so to he provided for in the 
meantime, that neither she, by following the wicked 
advice of God's enemies, to lose the hearts of her sub- 
jects, neither yet so many as tender the glory of God 

* The French and English factions still distracted Scotland. 



64 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

and liberties of tlieir native country, to be the sons of 
death. The best is, that intelligence begun betwixt 
these two kingdoms may endure and be increased, the 
breach whereof I know will be attempted by all means 
possible. 

" The great desire I have of the continuance, maketh 
me so earnest to wish that her majesty may be indu- 
ced by good means to enter in the same conjunction ; 
whereunto if she cannot by one way or other be per- 
suaded, then can I not but doubt of the success in the 
end. Although I do chiefly respect the common 
cause and public estate, yet doth my own private not 
a little move me to be careful in this behalf. In what 
case I stand, you will easily judge by sight of the en- 
closed, which, I pray you, return to me with speed. 
I know by my very friends in France, that she hath 
conceived such an opinion of my affection towards 
England, that it killeth all the means I can have to 
enter in any favor. 

" But if it might be compassed that the Queen's 
majesty and her highness might be as dear friends as 
they be tender cousins, then were I able enough to 
have as good part in her good grace, as any other of 
my quality in Scotland. If this cannot be brought to 
pass, then I see well, at length, it will be hard for me 
to dwell in Rome, and strive with the Pope. I as- 
sure you this whole realm is in a miserable case. If 
the Queen, our sovereign, come shortly home, the dan- 
gers be evident and many ; and if she shall not come, 
it is not without great peril ; yea, what is not to be 



MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 65 

feared in a realm lacking lawful government ? It is 
now more than two years past that we have lived in' 
a manner without any regiment ; which, when I con- 
sider sometimes with myself, I marvel from whence 
doth proceed the quietness which we presently enjoy, 
the like whereof, I think, all circumstances being 
weighed, was never seen in any realm. It would 
seem impossible that any people could so long be con- 
tained in order, without fear of punishment and strict 
execution of the laws ; and, indeed, I cannot by 
searching, find out any probable reason, but only that 
it has pleased the goodnes of God to give this glory to 
his truth preached among us ; but by all worldly judg- 
ment, the policy cannot thus long endure ; so that for 
this respect her absence to us is most pernicious. 
Thus, whether she come or not, we be in a great strait." 

The Catholic party, at a secret meeting, commission- 
ed John Lesley, of Aberdeen, to assure the Queen of 
their unabated devotion to her majesty. He inter- 
cepted her at Yitry in Champagne, en route from 
Eheims, where she had passed a part of the winter, 
toJoinville. Lesley proposed an immediate return 
to Scotland ; that she should detain her Protestant 
brother in France, who had been dispatched by the 
revolutionary Parliament, until after her return to her 
realm ; and to sail to Aberdeen, when a force of two 
thousand men would escort her to her throne. Mary 
wisely rejected the propositions of an unreliable fac- 
tion, and sought for measures of more general and 
popular character. She had sent four commissioners 

5 



66 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

to convey expressions of affection to her people, and 
promises of conciliation upon her speedy return. 
Parliament responded by dispatching Lord James, 
whose rank and growing influence with the reform- 
ers, and strength of character, fitted him for the deli- 
cate mission. He met Mary the day after the inter- 
view with Lesley. By all his pleas in behalf of the 
congregation, and the treaty of Edinburgh, she was 
unshaken in her determination to maintain the Cath- 
olic faith, and dissolve the union between her king- 
dom and England. She attempted, by the offer of a 
cardinal's hat, and other royal gifts, to win Lord 
James to her views. But, steadfast in his convictions, 
he secured by his decision, however distasteful in it- 
self to the Queen, her greater confidence — a result 
always certain in the trial of principle. Mary con- 
tinued her journey to Nancy, into which she made a 
public entry. Here her noble relatives honored their 
guest with a succession of splendid entertainments, 
and the excitements of the chase, and all the dazzling 
variety of invented pleasures. Wearied with this 
gayety, and frail in health, she hastened to the fine 
climate and solemn entertainments of Joinville. She 
found the venerable duchess veiled in crape, the pre- 
siding spectre of her sepulchral mansion. The spring 
had vanished, and glorious June had tinged with re- 
viving breath her pallid cheeks. Her dark tresses 
fell to her Humming apparel, which was snowy white, 
in graceful lines ; her beaming eyes were full of soul 
and gentleness ; and her subdued tones had an indis- 
cribable eloquence, that charmed to silent admiration 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 0? 

those who came in her presence. She was admired 
by prince and peasant, and the throngs gazed at her 
when she appeared in public, as if a celestial visitant 
were passing. This strange beauty and Mary's ro- 
mantic experience already cast into eclipse her faults 
of character. 

From Joinville she revisited Kheims, and after a 
brief stay proceeded to Paris. Her entry into the 
capital was not attended with a tumultuous throngs 
but with peculiar appropriateness. She was escorted 
by the princes of the royal line, and a company of 
cavaliers, who appeared like a select train of devotees 
around their serene and unrivaled goddess. While 
in the brilliant centre of Parisian pleasures, Protest- 
ant influences not unfrequently reached her. During 
an interview with Throckmorton, she freely declared 
her unyielding adherence to Rome : 

" To be plain with you, the religion which I pro- 
fess I take to be the most acceptable to God ; and, 
indeed, neither do I know, or desire to know, any 
other. Constancy becometh all people well, and none 
better than princes, and such as have rule over realms, 
and especially in matters of religion. I have been 
brought up in this religion, and who might credit me 
in anything, if I should show myself light in this 
cause ? And though I be young, an d not well learned, 
yet have I heard this matter oft disputed by mine un- 
cle, my lord cardinal, and I found therein no great 
reason to change my opinion. 

" I am none of those that will change my religion 



68 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

every year ; and, as I told you in the beginning, I 
mean to constrain none of my subjects, but would 
wish that they were all as I am ; and, I trust, they 
should have no support to constrain me." 

The struggle in Mary's heart between ambition, 
stimulated by the Guises, and attachment to the ge- 
nial air and early friends of France, was intense ; but 
it turned in favor of a perilous voyage and a more 
perilous throne. She prepared "to go and reign in 
her wild country." D'Oyselwas commissioned to be 
her herald, and requested from Elizabeth a safe con- 
duct through her kingdom. The stern sovereign of the 
world's most mighty realm in the great elements of 
power, promptly refused the permission until Mary 
had signed the treaty of Edinburgh. This repulse 
touched keenly the sensibility of the Queen of Scots. 
She thus gave expression to her emotions in a private 
conference with the English ambassador : 

" There is nothing that doth more grieve me than 
that I did so forget myself, as to require of the Queen, 
your mistress, that favor which I had no need to ask. 
I needed no more to have made her privy to my 
journey, than she doth me of hers. I may pass well 
enough into mine own realm, I think, without her 
passport or license ; for, though the late king, your 
master, used all the impeachment he could, both to 
stay me, and catch me, when I came hither, yet know, 
Monsieur l'Ambassadeur, I came hither safely ; and I 
may have as good means to help me home again, as I 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 69 

had to come hither, if I would employ my friends.* 
Truly, I was far from evil-meaning to the Queen, 
your mistress, at this time to employ her amity to 
stand me in stead than all the friends I have ; and 
yet, you know, both in this realm and elsewhere, I 
have both friends and allies, and such as would be 
glad and willing to employ both their forces and aid. 
You have often told me, that the amity between the 
Queen, your mistress, and me, were very necessary 
and profitable to us both. I have some reason, now, 
to think that the Queen, your mistress, is not of that 
mind ; for, I am sure, if she were, she would not have 
received me thus unkindly. It seems she makes more 
account of the amity of my disobedient -subjects, than 
of me their sovereign, who am her equal in degree, 
though inferior in wisdom and experience, her nearest 
kinswoman, and her next neighbor. The Queen, your 
mistress, doth say that I am young, and do lack expe- 
rience. But I have age enough and experience to 
behave myself towards my friends and kinsfolks 
friendly and uprightly, and I trust my discretion shall 
not so fail me that my passion shall move me to use 
other language of her than is due to a queen and my 
next kinswoman." 

The next day, July 21st, she addressed Throckmor- 
ton, in the following very beautiful words, which re- 
veal her sad forebodings of evil : 

" I trust the wind will be so favorable as I shall not 
need to come on the coast cf England, and if I do, 

*Cabala. 



70 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

then, Monsieur l'Ambassacleur, the Queen, jour mis- 
tress, shall have me in her hands to do her will of 
me ; and if she be so hard-hearted as to desire my 
end, she may then do her pleasure and make sacrifice 
of me. Peradventure that casualty might be better 
for me than to live ; in this matter God's will be ful- 
filled." 

Catherine's proud spirit was softened by the ap- 
proaching separation, and she accompanied Mary to St. 
Germain, where, thirteen years before, she first saw 
and embraced the laughing girl, who now left her a 
widow, mature in character, and drinking deeply of 
sorrow's cup. From St. Germain, the princes of Lor- 
raine, with a retinue of the nobility, made the journey 
to Calais, a triumphal procession in appearance, while 
many hearts were painfully throbbing ; and none more 
wildly beating than that of the sad and silent Mary. 
After six days' delay, she saw the two galleys and 
two vessels of burden, riding at anchor, ready for the 
royal train. Amid a throng of excited spectators, the 
youthful Queen folded her graceful arms around cher- 
ished forms, and shed tears like rain, in that mourn- 
ful adieu. The four Marys were with her. From 
infancy she had cherished the strange, superstitious 
fancies of the age. Writes one* of the departing at- 
tendants : " Habitually superstitious, in embarking 
for the royal galley, Mary was appalled by the mourn- 
ful spectacle of a vessel striking against the pier, and 
sinking to rise no more ; overwhelmed with the sight, 

*Brantorae. 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 71 

the unhappy queen exclaimed, ' O God ! what fatal 
omen is this for a voyage !' then rushing towards the 
stern, she knelt down, and, covering her face, sobbed 
aloud, ' Farewell ! France, farewell ! I shall never, 

never see thee more !' 

" The galley having left port, and a slight breeze 
having sprung up, we began to set sail. . . . She, 
with both arms resting on the poop of the galley near 
the helm, began to shed floods of tears, continually 
casting her beautiful eyes towards the port and the 
country she had left, and uttering these mournful 
words : Farewell, France ! until night began to fall. 
She desired to go to bed without taking any food, and 
would not go down into her cabin, so her bed was 
prepared on the deck. She commanded the steers- 
man, as soon as it was day, if he could still discern 
the coast of France, to wake her and not fear to call 
her ; in which fortune favored her ; for, the wind hav- 
ing ceased, and recourse being had to the oars, very 
little progress was had during the night ; so that when 
day appeared, the coast of France was still visible, 
and the steersman not having failed to perform the 
commands which she had given to him, she sat up in 
her bed, and began again to look at France as long as 
she could, and then she redoubled her lamentations : 
Farewell, France ! Farewell, France ! I think I 
shall never see thee more !" 

Such was the anguish of the mourning exile, in 
whom, on this touching occasion, the woman eclipsed 
the queen, and won admiration which was never ren- 



72 MARY QTXEEN OF SCOTS. 

dered to the severer virtues of Elizabeth. Mary was 
gifted with poetical genius, and commemorated this 
rending of ties and beginning of sorrows, in a beauti- 
ful poem.* 

* Adieu. 
Adieu, plaisant pays de France I 
ma patrie, 
La plus cherie ; 
Qui a nourri ma jeune enfance. 
Adieu, France ! adieu, mes beaux jours ! 
Lanef qui dejoint mes amours, 
Wa, cy de moi que la moitie 
Une parte te reste ; elle est tienne ; 
Je la fie a ton ami tie, 
Pour que de Pautre il te souvienne. 

" Adieu. 

"Farewell to thee, thou pleasant shore, 
The loved, the cherished home to me 
Of infant joy, a dream that's o'er, 
Farewell, dear France ! farewell to thee ! 

"The sail that wafts me bears away 

From thee but half my soul alone; 
Its fellow half will fondly stay, 

And back to thee has faithful flown. 

" I trust it to thy gentle care ; 

For all that here remains with me 
Lives but to think of all that's there, 
To love and to remember thee*" 



CHAPTER III. 

the voyage mart arrives at leith popular rejoicings john 

knox — mary's religious concessions — her public entry into Edin- 
burgh INTERVIEW WITH KNOX THE COMPROMISE LORD JAMES 

STUART LIFE AT HOLYROOD CONSPIRACIES AND REVOLT MARY HEADS 

AN ARMY ANOTHER INTERVIEW WITH KNOX CORRESPONDENCE WITH 

ELIZABETH PROPOSED MEETING OF THE SOVEREIGNS TRAITS OF CHAR- 
ACTER SCENES IN THE PALACE LOVERS LORD DUDLEY AND DARNLEY 

NEGOTIATIONS JAMES MELVIL's MISSION RANDOLPH'S VISIT TO ST. 

ANDREWS THE RESULT MURRAY'S CONSPIRACY AND REVOLT THE 

WEDDING. 

"When the morning dawned upon the royal galley, 
and the banks of oars dripped with the flashing wa- 
ters, Mary's tears flowed afresh at the sight of a shad- 
owy ontline of the land she had left forever. She 
gazed fondly at the fading horizon, while the breeze 
lifted her dark tresses, and filled the drooping sails. 
The rowers ceased their measured strokes, the vessel's 
prow cnt the foam, and in an hour, all that remained 
of France to Mary, was a mournfully pleasant dream, 
and the companions of her voyage. The galley swept 
past a dangerous shoal, and she remarked upon the 
peril to which it had been exposed, " that for the sake 
of her friends, and for the common weal, she ought 
to rejoice ; but that for herself, she should have es- 
teemed it a privilege so to have ended her course." 



7-1 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

She had anticipated the appearance of English 
cruisers, despatched by Elizabeth to intercept her 
course ; but nothing occurred to prevent a prosperous 
transit to the shores of her unquiet kingdom. On the 
19th of August, 1561, the fleet emerging from a heavy 
fog which had fallen the preceding evening, sooner 
than was expected by the Queen's subjects, sailed into 
the harbor of Leith. 

The tidings flew, and the people flocked to behold 
and welcome their Queen, whose charms made a fa- 
vorable impression upon those who dreaded her reli- 
gious influence upon the realm. The nobility has- 
tened to escort her to Edinburgh, and the ancient 
palace of Holy rood. A palfrey was provided for her, 
and her train rode upon highland ponies, " such as 
they were, and harnessed to match." Mary felt keen- 
ly the contrast between the pomp and magnificence 
of the French court, and her humble entrance into the 
ruder dominions of her inheritance. Tears again 
dimmed her vision ; and she saw in the plain man- 
ners, and music of sacred psalmody, characteristic of 
the reformers, a source of perpetual pain to her natu- 
ral and religious sensibilities. The surface-dressing 
in social life and divine worship, which had polished 
the daughter of Stuart, unfitted her for the stern ele- 
ments on which she must thenceforth lay her gentle 
hand. 

John Knox, in a graphic description of Mary's re- 
ception, discloses his own strong emotions and fearful 
aj)prehensions, in view of the reign of a Catholic sove- 
reign. 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 75 

" The very face of tlie heavens at the time of her 
arrival did manifestly speak what comfort was brought 
into this country with her : to wit, sorrow, dolour, 
darkness, and all impiety ; for in the memory of man 
that day of the year was never seen a more dolorous 
face of the heavens, than was at her arrival, which 
two days after did so continue ; for, besides the sur- 
face wet, and the corruption of the air, the mist was 
so thick and dark that scarce could any man espy an- 
other the length of two pair of butts. The sun was 
not seen to shine two days before nor two days after. 
That fore-warning, gave God to us — but alas ! the 
most part were blind. 

" At the sound of the cannon which the galleys 
shot, happy was he or she that first must have pres- 
ence of the Queen. The Protestants were not the 
slowest, and therein they were not to be blamed. 
Because the palace of Holyrood-IIouse was not thor- 
oughly put in order, for her coining was more sudden 
than many looked for, she remained in Leith till to- 
wards the evening, and then repaired thither. In the 
way betwixt Leith and the abbey, met her the rebels 
and crafts of men of whom we spoke of before, to 
wit, those that had violated the acts of the magis- 
trates, and had besieged the provost. But because 
she was sufficiently instructed that all they did was 
done in spite of their religion, they were easily par- 
doned. Fires of joy were set forth at night, and a 
company of most honest men, with instruments of 
music, and with musicians, gave their salutations at 
her chamber window ; the melody, as she alleged, 



76 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

liked her well, and she willed the same to be contin- 
ued some nights after with great diligence. The lords 
repaired to her from all quarters, and so was nothing 
understood but mirth and quietness, till the next Sun- 
day, which was the 24th of August, when that prepa- 
ration began to be made for that idol, the mass, to be 
said in the chapel ; which perceived, the most of all 
the godly began to speak openly : ' Shall that idol be 
suffered again to take place beneath this realm ? It 
shall not.' The Lord Lindsay (then but master) with 
the gentlemen of Fife, and others, plainly cried in the 
close or yard, ' The idolatrous priests shall die the 
death, according to God's law.' One that carried in 
the candle was evil afraid. But then began flesh and 
blood to show itself. There durst no Papist, neither 
yet any that came out of France, whisper, but the 
Lord James, the man whom all the godly did most 
reverence, took upon him to keep the chapel door. 
His best excuse was, that he would stop all Scottish 
men to enter into the mass. But it was and is suffi- 
ciently known, that the door was kept, that none 
should have entry to trouble the priest, who, after the 
mass was ended, was committed to the protection of 
the Lord John of Coldingham and Lord Robert of 

, who then were both Protestants, and had 

communicated at the table of the Lord ; betwixt them 
both the priest was conveyed to the chamber. . . . 
And so the godly departed with grief of heart, and 
in the afternoon repaired to the abbey in great com- 
panies, and gave plain signification that they could 
not abide that the land which God by his power had 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 77 

purged from idolatry, should in their eyes be polluted 
again, and so began complaint upon complaint. The 
old duntebors and others, that had long served in the 
court, hoped to have no remission of sins but by vir- 
tue of the mass, cried, they would away to France 
without delay — ■ they could not live without the mass ; 
the same affirmed the Queen's uncle ; and would to 
God, that altogether, with the mass, they had taken 
good night of the realm forever." 

Knox, whose " single voice could put more life into a 
host than six hundred blustering trumpets, " was a ter- 
ror to many. In the sublime persuasion that he was 
commissioned by God to lead the " sacramental host " 
against the corrupt hierarchy of Rome, he was unap- 
proachable by bribery, unmoved by penalties, and 
only annealed for combat in the furnace of trial. 
The blandishments of wealth, the sufferings of penury, 
and the scoffs of the great, were equally unfelt by 
him, who had made, as an oblation to the Lord, the 
entire consecration of his powers to the one object of 
life — the extermination of Popery in his beloved 
Scotland. Gifted with a high order of intellect, and 
courageous, he was animated by ardent enthusiasm, 
controlled by inflexibility of purpose, and a thorough 
knowledge of the human heart. He swayed men by 
his lofty determination, fearless denunciations, and 
evident sincerity. The faults of such men as Luther, 
Knox, and Cromwell, were those of champions in a 
mighty conflict, who had not time to polish their weap- 
ons, or always regard the amenities and rules of more 
peaceful life. 



78 MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

" It was as an apostle, or rather as a prophet, that 
Knox challenged homage. In his own conceptions 
he was alternately the Elijah rebuking Ahab — the 
Jeremiah denouncing Israel — the John the Baptist, 
who could overawe even the presumptuous Herod. 
Woe to the man who incurred his wrath, or fell under 
his chastisement ! Unhappy they who became the ob- 
j ect of his antipathy or suspicion ! In this predicament 
was Mary Stuart ! Whatever prejudice he had ori- 
ginally conceived against a daughter of Guise, was con- 
firmed and justified by the administration of her un- 
cles. Educated under their auspices, imbued with their 
jninciples, he regarded her as infected with their cru- 
elty and perfidy — as a Papist, incapable of any moral 
virtue — as an idolater, worse than an infidel. If she 
would subdue his prejudice, she must disclaim her 
superstitions, renounce the mass, forsake the idol — on 
no other condition could he be persuaded that she was 
entitled to esteem and confidence. " 

He regarded the mass the coronation of the " man 
of sin " upon Puritan soil ; and he therefore said, that 
" one mass was more fearful to him than if ten thou- 
sand armed enemies were landed in every part of the 
realm." And soon after the first Sabbath of the royal 
retinue in Holyrood, he thus unbosomed his heart in 
a letter to Calvin at Geneva : 

" The arrival of the Queen has disturbed the tran- 
quillity of our affairs. She had scarcely been back 
three days, before the idol of the mass was again 
set up. Some prudent men of great authority endeav- 



MAEY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 79 

ored to prevent it, saying that their purified, con- 
science could not suffer that that land should a^ain 
be contaminated, which the Lord, by the efficacy of 
his word, had purged from idolatry. But as the ma- 
jor part of those who adhere to our faith thought dif- 
ferently, impiety gained the victory, and is now acqui- 
ring fresh strength. Those who favored it give as a 
reason for their indulgence, that all the ministers of 
the Lord are of opinion, and that you yourself declare, 
that it is not lawful for us to prevent the Queen from 
practising her religion. Although I contradict this 
rumor, which appears to me very false, it has taken 
such deep root in men's hearts, that it will be impos- 
sible for me to dislodge it, unless I learn from you 
whether the question has been actually submitted to 
your Church, and what was the answer of the breth- 
ren. I am always troubling you with such inquiries, 
but' I have no one else into whose bosom I can pour 
my cares. I confess candidly, my father, that I have 
never until now felt how painful and difficult it is to 
combat hypocrisy when concealed under the mask of 
piety. I have never feared open enemies so greatly, 
but that, in the midst of my tribulations, I have hoped 
to gain the victory." 

It was no pleasant pastime to confront such a leader 
of the Protestant party — a party too powerful to 
crush, and invincible to the flatteries or imposing 
forms of papal worship. 

Yet Mary hoped to conciliate her restive subjects 
by her smiles, and a concession which she thought 



80 M'AKY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

might roconcile them to her private observance of her 
own religious forms. She issued a proclamation, that 
no alteration should be made in the established reli- 
gion, " and that any act, whether public or private, 
which tended to change its form, should be punished 
with death." She also exchanged her apparel of white 
crape, which had won in France the appellation of 
"^eine Blanche " — White Queen — for the mourn- 
ing of her people — a sable dress. This attire en- 
hanced her beauty, like the dark back-ground to a 
picture of celestial penciling. 

On the second of September she made her public 
entry into Edinburgh. Her train issued from the 
castle in the afternoon, and moved towards ■" Scotia's 
ancient seat," under a canopy of violet velvet, and fol- 
lowed by the nobility. She was greeted with the 
pageant of a child, six years of age, issuing from a 
cloud, as if descending from Heaven, who, after 
repeating a poem, presented her with the keys of 
Edinburgh, a Bible, and Book of Psalms. 

Contrasted with these signals of loyalty, were warn- 
ings in various symbols along her way. The fate of 
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, were set forth, with 
other significant exhibitions of indignation against 
the rites of idolatrous Rome. After these scenes had 
transpired, Mary desired to have an interview with 
Knox, whose presence she was willing to endure for 
the sake of her kingdom. The following is the ac- 
count given by the reformer himself, of his visit to 
the Queen, whom he found alone with her brother, 
Lord James, and who at the outset reproached him 



MART QUEEN" OF SOOTS. 81 

for his work against Female Sovereigns. To this lie 
replied : 

" Learned men, in all ages, have had their judg- 
ments free, and most commonly disagreeing from the 
common judgment of the world ; such also have they 
published both with pen and tongue, notwithstanding 
they themselves have lived in the common society with 
others, and have borne patiently with the errors and 
imperfections which they could not amend. Plato, the 
philosopher, wrote his book of the Commonwealth, 
in the which he condemns many things that were 
maintained in the world, and required many things 
to have been reformed ; and yet, notwithstanding, he 
lived under such politics as then were universally 
received, without further troubling any state ; even 
so, madam, am I content to do, in uprightness of heart, 
and with the testimony, of a good conscience I have 
communicated my judgment to the world. If the 
realm find no inconvenience in the regimen of a wo- 
man, that which they approve shall I not farther dis- 
allow them within my own breast, but shall be as well 
content, and shall live under your majesty, as Paul 
was to live under the Eoman Emperor ; and my hope 
is, that so long as you defile not your hands with the 
blood of the saints of God, that neither I nor that 
book shall either hurt you or your authority ; for in 
very deed, madam, that book was written most espe- 
cially against wicked Mary of England." 
" But you speak of women in general ?" 
" Most true it is, madam ; and yet plainly appear- 
eth to me that wisdom should persuade your majesty 

D* 6 



82 MAKY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

never to raise trouble for that winch this day hath not 
troubled your majesty, neither in person nor in anxi- 
ety. For of late years, many things which before 
were holden stable, have been called in doubt ; yea, 
they have been plainly impugned : but yet, madam, 
I am assured that neither Protestant nor Papist shall 
be able to prove that any such question was at any 
time moved in public or in private. Even, madam, 
if I had intended to trouble your estate, because you 
are a woman, I might have chosen a time more con- 
venient for that purpose than I could do now, when 
your own presence is within the realm." 

Knox repelled the charges of sedition and necro- 
mancy, which seemed to satisfy the Queen, who yet 
complained of the seditious influence of his reasoning. 

" You have brought the people to receive another 
religion than their princes can allow — and how can 
that doctrine be of God, seeing that God command- 
eth subjects to obey their prince ?" 

"Madam, as right religion took neither original nor 
integrity from worldly princes, but from the eternal 
God alone, so are not subjects bound to frame their 
religion according to the appetite of their princes. If 
all the seed of Abraham should have been of the reli- 
gion of Pharaoh, what religion should there have been 
in the world? Or if all men in the days of the 
Roman Emperors should have been of the religion of 
the Roman Emperors, what religion should have been 
on the face of the earth ? Daniel and his fellows 
were subject to Nebuchadnezzar and unto Darius, and 
yet they would not be of their religion." 



MABY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 8d 

Mary, in reply, urged that none of the worthies 
mentioned took arms against the king. Knox con- 
tinued: 

" Yet, madam, ye cannot deny but that they resisted ; 
for those that obey not the commandments given, in 
some sort resist." 

"But yet," reiterated the Queen, "they resisted 
not by the sword." 

" God, madam, had not given them the power and 
the means." 

"Think you that subjects, having the power, may 
resist their princes ? " 

"If princes do exceed their bounds, madam, or 
do against that wherefore they should be obeyed, 
there is no doubt they may be resisted, even by pow- 
er ; for there is neither greater honor nor greater obe- 
dience to be given to kings and princes than to father 
or mother ; but so it is, that the father may be strick- 
en with a phrenzy, in the which he will slay his own 
children ; now, madam, if the children arise, appre- 
hend the father, take the sword or other weapon from 
him, and finally bind his hands, and keep him in pris- 
on till his phrenzy be overpast, think ye, madam, 
that the children do any wrong ? " 

The mention of a prison awakened Mary's fears 
with so visible effect, that afterwards it was related 
as evidence of supernatural inspiration in this stern 
reprover of monarchs. 

When Knox alluded to the protection sovereigns 
might give to the church of Christ, she replied in an- 
ger- — "Yes, this is indeed true, but yours is not the 



84: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

church that I will nourish. I will defend the church 
of Rome, for I think it the true church of God." He 
replied indignantly, that her will was not reason, and 
her opinion could not change that harlot into the im- 
maculate spouse of Christ. He farther offered to 
prove that the Catholic church was more degenerate 
and corrupt than the Jewish nation, when they cru- 
cified Christ. But Mary closed the exciting debate, 
and bade him farewell. He left her presence, pray- 
ing God " she might be as blessed in the common- 
wealth of Scotland, as ever Deborah was in the 
commonwealth of Israel." 

The zeal of the unyielding Puritan displeased the 
more politic leaders of the Protestant party. In 
a letter to Cecil, Lethington wrote : 

" You know the vehemency of Mr. Knox's spirit, 
which cannot be bridled, and yet doth sometimes utter 
such sentences as cannot easily be digested by a weak 
stomach. I could wish he would deal with her more 
gently, being a young princess unpersuaded. For 
this I am accounted too politic, but surely in her 
comporting with him she doth declare a wisdom far 
exceeding her age. God grant her the assistance of 
his Spirit I" 

The compromise with Protestantism which pre- 
vailed, secured to the Queen the enjoyment of her 
own faith, conferred authority upon a mixed council, 
and retaining two-thirds of the revenues for the 
Catholics and nobility, devoted one-third to the use 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 85 

of the new church. But other troubles remained 
untouched. There were the revolted and factious 
nobles to subdue ; the probable collision with Eliza- 
beth ; and, finally, the question of her marrige, — for 
to accept a foreign prince would endanger her crown, 
and to many a subject would sow additional discords 
in her kingdom. 

Lord James Stuart was a master spirit among her 
admirers, and acted wisely, though a decided Protes- 
tant. The Queen made him Earl of Mar upon his 
marriage with the daughter of the Earl Marshal, and 
invested him with power to subdue the rebels on the 
frontier. He entered upon the difficult command, 
and with the heroic energy of his decided character, 
soon finished the work. His elevation increased the 
discontent of a jealous aristocracy; and in a fit of 
insanity, the Earl of Arran revealed a plot, which was 
disclosed to him by Earl of Bothwell and the Abbot 
of Kilwinning, for invading the palace, making Mary 
a prisoner, and killing Lord James, to secure the 
reins of government. The conspiracy was of course 
crushed, and its authors were arrested. 

Mary, meanwhile, had given to the sombre apart- 
ments of Holyrood, the luxury and much of the ele- 
gance of a French court. She embellished the walls 
with tapestry, adorned her person with jewels, and 
found amusement in directing, by her taste, the im- 
provements in landscape gardening. Of the four 
Marys who had been her companions from girlhood, 
the amiable Flemining married Maitland, Mary Liv- 
ingston, William, eldest son of Lord Temple, and 



86 MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

Mary Beaton, though once engaged, and Mary Sea- 
ton, remained unmarried. The following passages from 
Sir Thomas Randolph, the English Ambassador, afford 
interesting glimpses of life at Holyrood. The Queen, 
after a sitting of her council, was walking with him 
in the garden, when she inquired, — ■ " How like you 
this country — you have been in it a good space, and 
know it well enough ?" " My answer was, that the 
country was good, and the polity might be made much 
better." " The absence of a prince hath caused it to 
be worse — but yet, is it not like unto England?" I 
answered, " That there were many in the world, worse 
than her grace's, that were thought right good, but I 
judged few better than England ; which, I trusted, 
that some time after, her grace should witness." " I 
would be content therewith if my sister, your mis- 
tress, so liked." I said, " That it was the thing that 
many of her grace's subjects did desire, and, as I 
judged, would also content my mistress." 

Randolph adds : " I receive of her grace, at all 
times, very good words. I am borne in hand by such 
as are nearest about her, as the Lord James and the 
Laird of Lethington : that they are meant as they are 
spoken of, I see them above all others in credit, and 
find in them no alteration ; though there be that com- 
plain, they yield too much to her appetite, which I 
see not. The Lord James dealeth according to his 
nature, rudely, homely, and bluntly ; the Laird of 
Lethington more delicately and finely, yet nothing 
swerving from the other in mind and effect. She is 
patient to hear, and beareth much. The Earl Maris- 



MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 87 

clial is wary, but speaketh sometimes to good pur- 
pose ; — his daughter is lately come to this town : — ■ 
we look shortly for what shall become of the long 
love betwixt the Lord James and that lady. The Lord 
John of Coldingham hath not least favor, with his 
leaping and dancing ; — he is like to marry the Lord 
Both well's sister. The Lord Robert consumeth with 
love of the Earl Cassil's sister ; — the Earl Both well 
hath given unto him old lands of his father, in Tevi- 
otdale, and the Abbey of Melross. The duke's 
grace* is come to Kinneil, and proposes not to come 
near to the court, except that he be sent for. I hear 
of nothing that is proposed against him ; it is thought 
that he may be well enough spared. My Lord Arran 
proposeth not to be at court so long as the mass re- 
maineth : there come few to it, but herself, her uncle 
and train. Three causes, I perceive there are, that 
make my Lord of Arran to absent himself ; the one 
is the mass ; the other, the presence of his enemy ; 
the third, lack wherewith to maintain a court. By 
the first, he maintains his credit with the precise Pro- 
testants ; the other argues less courage in him than 
many men thought, that his enemy is yet alive to have 
that place which he is unworthy of; the third mani- 
fests the beastliness of his father, that more than 
money, hath neither faith nor God. The lords now 
begin to return to the court, the bishops ilock apace ; 
the Metropolitan of St. Andrew's arrived here on 
Monday last, with eighty horses in train, and to be 

* Cliatellierault. 



88 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

seen lie rode half-a-mile out of liis way through the 
High-street of Edinburgh ; — we know not yet what 
mischief he and his associates come for : he had with 
him only two Hamiltons." 

Though the Earl of Mar had paralyzed the strength 
of the Hamiltons in the northern districts of Scot- 
land, the Gordons were rebellious in the "West. Earl 
of Huntly had planned a conspiracy against the life 
of Lethington and Earl of Mar. His son, John Gor- 
don, had aspired to Mary's hand. But in consequence 
of a duel with Lord Oglivy, he was summoned to re- 
pair to Stirling Castle. The mandate of his Sover- 
eign he disregarded, and appeared in open revolt at 
the head of a thousand horsemen. His father, Earl 
of Huntly, having fortified the castles, took up his 
quarters in the mountains, to await the approach of 
Mary Stuart, who was making a tour to the northern 
frontier. She marched at the head of a small army, 
commanded by Earl of Mar. Reaching the Castle of 
Inverness, which was shut against her, she ordered 
an attack, followed by surrender, and the execution 
of the captain who held the stronghold. 

She displayed great heroism in this campaign, en- 
during exposure and wearisome marches, fording riv- 
ers, crossing highlands, and encamping on the deso- 
late heath ; regretting " that she was not a man, to 
know what life it was to lie all night in the fields, or 
to walk upon the causeway, with a jack and knapsack, 
a Glasgow buckler and a broadsword." After this 
expedition, she gave to her brother the earldom 
of Murray, which resulted in open war with the Gor- 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 89 

dons. The final issue was, tlie conquest of the Ham- 
iltons and Gordons, the farther triumph of Protestant- 
ism, and augmenting the power of Murray, who was 
virtually supreme, and ruled with no less energy than 
prudence. 

Knox was, after all, the power, behind the throne, 
whom Murray and the Queen regarded as a Titan 
among reformers. He wrote of her appearance in 
Parliament : 

" Three sundry days the Queen rode to the Toll- 
booth ; the first day she made a painted oration, and 
there might have been heard amongst her flatterers, 
' Vox Dianw, the voice of a goddess ! (for it could 
not be Dei,) and not of a woman ! — God save that 
sweet face ! Was there ever orator spoke so properly 
and so sweetly !' All things," he adds, " misliked 
the preachers. They spake boldly against the super- 
fluity of their clothes, and against the rest of their 
vanity, which they affirmed should provoke God's 
wrath not only against these foolish women, but 
against the whole realm. Articles were presented 
for orders to be taken of apparel, and for reformation 
of other enormities, but all was winked at." 

Mary's marriage was a subject of much specula- 
tion and prophecy. Knox heard that she had reject- 
ed the king of Sweden, and was in danger of an Aus- 
trian or Spanish alliance, and openly denounced her 
course. He was again summoned into her presence ; 
and, accompanied by John Erskine, of Dun, whose 



90 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

temper and aspect would remind one in contrast with 
Knox, of Melanctlion by Luther's side, he promptly 
obeyed the royal mandate. The record of the inter- 
view, as given by himself, is an interesting exhibition 
of his own and Mary's peculiar qualities. Pie af- 
firms, that she immediately began to weep, and 
exclaim: 

" That never prince was used as she was ; i I have,' 
said she, ' borne with you in all your rigorous man- 
ner of speaking, both against myself, and against my 
uncles ; yea, I have sought your favour by all possible 
meanes ; I offered unto you presence and audience 
whensoever it pleased you to admonish mee ; and yet 
I cannot be quit of you ; I vow to God I shall be 
once revenged :' and with these words scarce could 
Marnocke, one of her pages, get handkerchiefs to 
hold her eyes dry ; for the tears and the howling, be- 
sides womanly weeping, stayed her speech. 

" The said John did patiently abide all this fume, 
and at opportunity answered ; ' True it is, madame, 
your majesty and I have beene at diverse controver- 
sies, into the which I never perceived your majesty 
to be offended at me ; but when it shall please God 
to deliver you from that bondage of darknesse and 
errour wherein ye have been nourished for the lack 
of true doctrine, your majesty will iiiide the liberty 
of my tongue nothing offensive ; without the preach- 
ing place, I thinke few have occasion to be offended 
at me ; and there I am not master myselfe, but must 
obey Him who commands me to speak plaine, and to 
flatter no flesh upon the face of the earth.' 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 91 

" ' But what have you to do,' said she, < with my 
marriage?' 

" 'If it please your majesty patiently to hear me, 
I shall shew the truth in plain words. I grant your 
majesty offered unto mee more than ever I required, 
but my answer was then as it is now, that God hath 
not sent me to awaite upon the courts of princes, or 
upon the chamber of ladies, but I am sent to preach 
the Evangell of Jesus Christ to such as please to hear ; 
it hath two points, repentance and faith : K~ow, in 
preaching repentance, of necessity it is that the sinnes 
of men be noted, that they may know wherein they 
offend. But so it is, that most part of your nobilitie 
are so much addicted to your affections, that neither 
God's word, nor yet their commonwealth, are rightly 
regarded ; and, therefore, it becometh me to speak 
that they may know their duty.' 

" ' What have you to do with my marriage, or what 
are you within the commonwealth V 

" ' A subject, borne within the same, madame ; and 
albeit I bee neither earle, lord, nor baron, within it, 
yet hath God made me (how abject that ever I bee in 
your eyes,) a profitable and a usefull member within 
the same : yea, madame, to me it appertaineth no less 
to forewarn of such things as may hurt it, if I foresee 
them, than it doeth to any one of the nobility ; for 
both my vocation and office craveth plainnesse of me : 
and therefore, madame, to yourselfe I say that which 
I spake in publike : "Whensoever the nobility of this 
realme shall be content, and consent that you be sub- 
ject to an unlawful husband, they doe as much as in 



92 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

them lieth to renounce Christ, to banish the truth, to 
betray the freedom of this realme, and perchance 
shall, in the end, doe small comfort to yourselfe.' 

" At these words, howling was heard, and teares 
might have been seene in greater abundance than the 
matter required. John Erskine, of Dun, a man of 
meeke and gentle spirit, stood beside, and did what 
he could to mitigate the anger, and gave unto her 
many pleasant words of her beauty, of her excellen- 
cy, and how that ail the princes in Europe would be 
glad to seek her favours ; but all that was to cast oil 
into the naming fire. 

"No such mitigation, however, was offered by 
Knox, who stood still, without any alteration of 'coun- 
tenance, and in the end said, ' Madam, in God's pres- 
ence I speak, I never delighted in the weeping of any 
of God's creatures, yea, I can scarcely well abide the 
teares of mine own boys, when mine own hands cor- 
rect them ; much less can I rejoice in your majestie's 
weeping ; but seeing I have offered unto you no just 
occasion to be offended, but have spoken the truth, 
as my vocation craves of me : I must sustaine your 
majestie's teares rather than I dare hurt my con- 
science, or betray the commonwealth by silence.' 
Herewith was the Queen more offended, and com 
mancled the said John to passe forth of the cabinet, 
and to abide further of her pleasure in the chamber. 

" But in that chamber where he stood as one whom 
men had never seene (except that the Lord Ochiltree 
bare him company,) the confidence of Knox did not 
forsake him ; and, therefore, began he to make dis 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 93 

course with the ladies, who were there sitting in all 
their gorgeous apparel ; which, when he espied, he 
merrily said, ' Fair ladies, how pleasant were this life 
of yours, if it should ever abide ! and then in the end 
that wee might passe to Heaven with this geare : but 
lie upon that knave, Death, that will come whether 
we will or not ; and when he hath laid on the arrest, 
then foule wormes will bee busie with this flesh, be it 
never so faire and so tender ; and the silly soule, I 
feare, shall be so feeble, that it can neither carry with 
it gold, garnishing, targating, pearl, nor precious 
stones.' " 

Farther efforts at intimidation were made by the 
Queen in vain, and Knox left her in triumph. Soon 
after he was married to the daughter of Lord Ochil- 
tree, an interesting young lady, twenty years of age ; 
resembling, in her companionship with the Reformer, 
a bell-flower clinging to the side of an immovable 
rock. 

The question of Mary's marriage also involved the 
English interest. She wished to be declared the pre- 
sumptive heiress of Elizabeth, and on that condition 
would submit to her the choice of a husband. For 
three years, it was a matter of correspondence between 
the sovereigns, and their ambassadors endeavored to 
make the negotiations friendly and successful. The 
English hoped to secure a Protestant alliance, and 
with it Mary's conversion from Popery. 

But while she firmly refused to sign the treaty of 
Edinburgh, a step urged by her rival, she as little 
thought of renouncing, under any circumstances, her 



94: MAKY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

allegiance to Home. The Queen of England was as 
deeply hostile to nominating Mary her successor. 
While pursuing these different ends, to bring the con- 
flicting claims to a favorable termination, a personal 
meeting was proposed. "When, therefore, Lethington 
returned to Edinburgh, with a kind letter from Eliza- 
beth, and her portrait, offering an interview, in the 
hope of cultivating, permanently, harmony between 
the two realms, Mary manifested great joy. With 
her natural vivacity and hopefulness, she said to Ran- 
dolph, " I trust by that time that we have spoken to- 
gether, our hearts will be so eased, that the greatest 
grief that ever after shall be between us, will be when 
we shall take leave, the one of the other. And let God 
be my witness, I honor her in my heart, and love her 
as my dear and natural sister." 

This pledge from Elizabeth was not fulfilled. She 
was involved in the continental wars, assisting the 
Huguenots, which she plead in her message to Mary, 
as a sufficient reason for postponing the interview till 
the following summer. The disappointment of the 
Queen of Scots upon hearing the announcement from 
Sir Henry Sidney, was significant of future attempts 
of a similar kind. ~Noy could it well be, that the am- 
bitious sovereigns, so dissimilar in the whole outline 
of character, should confide in each other. " Both 
training and nature conspired to make these women 
opposites. Elizabeth's youth had been one of fear, 
and caution, and restraints, and her deportment al- 
ways bore traces of this hard discipline, in its stiffness 
and want of grace. Mary's had been tenderly fos- 



MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 95 

tered ; she was admired and even beloved, as far as 
the denizens of that conrt had hearts to love. Her 
4 charming nature' could expand in all the sunshine 
of general approval — there were no cold checks 
shutting her up within herself; her manner was, there- 
fore, open, frank, engaging, and cordial — how should 
a prosperous, j oy ous beauty's ever be otherwise ? But 
it was only an accomplishment, formed not by the 
heart so much as by external circumstances. She 
had no need in her youth for habitual circumspection, 
and her general demeanor was the -gainer by it." 

During the winter of 1563, Mary dispatched Leth- 
ington to the court of Elizabeth, to gain her favor 
towards the princes of Lorraine, and assert the right 
of succession, if the question should be agitated. 
Mary's temperament, and unfortunate education, were 
never more conspicuous than at this period, while 
vital questions to herself and her kingdom were pend- 
ing. She abandoned herself to all the amusements 
and pleasures of a gay court. Music, dancing, fal- 
conry, poesy, and gallantries were the variety of life 
in the palace of Holyrood. In vain Knox mounted 
his pulpit to denounce the midnight festivities of roy- 
alty. He complained, " that princes are more exer- 
cised in fiddling and flinging, than in reading or hear- 
ing of God's most blessed word. Fiddlers and flatterers 
who commonly corrupt the youth, are more precious 
in their eyes than men of wisdom and gravity, who, 
by wholesome admonition might beat down in them 
some part of the vanity and pride whereimto all are 
born, but in princes take deep root and strength by 



96 MAiiY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

wicked education." Mary's dissipation, naturally 
enough, engaged her in unhappy attentions from em- 
boldened admirers. 

A Captain Hepburn was so familiar and indelicate 
in his advances, that he escaped punishment only by 
flight. Chastelard, a poet and musician from Dau- 
phiny, became a lover. He addressed poems to the 
beautiful Queen, to which, by proxy or otherwise, she 
replied ; she allowed private visits in her cabinet 
more frequently than to any of her nobility ; and by 
other expressions of peculiar regard, intoxicated him 
with passion. One evening he ventured to conceal 
himself under her bed, and upon his discovery, Mary 
ordered him to leave the court forever. Instead of 
compliance with the command, the infatuated lover 
followed her into Fife, whither she had gone on a tour 
to the North, and again concealed himself in her apart- 
ment. In a glow of indignation, she ordered Murray 
to kill Chastelard on the spot. But the calmer states- 
man put him under arrest for more deliberate con- 
demnation. Two days later he walked to the scaffold, 
reciting Ronsard's hymn to death ; and when he stood 
ready for the fatal blow, he raised his eyes to Heaven 
and exclaimed, " O cruelle dame ! " The wide-spread 
and deep sensation produced by this tragical affair, 
which, whatever the desert of " the mad lover," tar- 
nished Mary's reputation, urged upon her the neces- 
sity of marriage. Amid the many politic offers of an 
alliance, Elizabeth about this time proposed, through 
her ambassador, Randolph, Lord Robert Dudley, son 
of the Duke of Northumberland. He had wisely 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 97 

governed England under Edward VI., but presented 
no inducement to Mary Stuart, unless her haughty 
rival would secure the right of succession. Besides, 
another suitor more promising to her ambition, and 
more pleasing to her fancy, entered the field of this 
matrimonial tournament. Lord Henry Darnley was 
the son of the Earl of Lennox, a refugee in England 
for having joined the cause of' Henry VIII. , who mar- 
ried Lady Margaret Douglas, daughter of Margaret 
Tudor, widow of James IV. Connected thus with 
the royal families of both England and Scotland, and 
a young gentleman of very fine personal appearance 
and elegant manners, Darnley was a favorite with the 
Queen. His mother- had, since Mary's return, been 
secretly planning for her son's promotion, unconscious 
that it would be his ruin. Lennox was invited to 
resume the lands and honors which he had forfeited 
and abandoned in Scotland; Elizabeth consented, 
and the earl arrived on his ancestral domain, Sep- 
tember, 1564. Mary lavished her favors upon him, 
though 'it excited anew the displeasure of the Ham- 
iltons, his bitter enemies. Mary determined, after 
consulting him, before a final resolution on the sub- 
ject, to ascertain more fully Elizabeth's views of her 
prospective marriage, and the two suitors. She there- 
fore dispatched James Melvil, a finished diplomatist, 
a scholar, and an accomplished gentleman, to the 
English court. Elizabeth, whose vanity was as pro- 
verbial as her policy, received Melvil with every 
mark of distinction. He was a guest of Lady Straf- 
ford, the Queen's confidant — Elizabeth entertained 
E * ' 



98 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

him with her music, and danced in his presence. He 
displayed his tact and talent in the reply to the ques- 
tion, the color of whose hair was reputed best — that of 
her own or of the Queen of Scotland? He answered 
that " there was no one in England comparable to 
her, and no one in Scotland so beautiful as Mary Stu- 
art." She was not satisfied with so equivocal a com- 
pliment, and Melvil assured her, she excelled Mary 
in complexion, music and dancing. Such flatteries 
reached the proud heart of Elizabeth. She kissed the 
portrait of Mary Stuart, and smiled brightly on Mel- 
vil. He, however, assured her, that Lord Robert 
Dudley would fail of winning the hand of his sove- 
reign. She replied excitedly, " Lord Robert is my 
best friend ; I love him as a brother, and I would my- 
self have married him, had I ever minded to have 
taken a husband. But being determined to end my 
life in virginity, I wished that the Queen, my sister, 
might marry him, as meetest of all others with whom 
I could find it in my heart to declare my succession. 
For being matched with him, it would best remove out 
of my mind all fears and suspicions to be offended by 
any usurpation before my death ; being assured that 
he is so loving and trusty, that he would never permit 
any such thing to be attempted during my time. And 
that the Queen, your mistress, may have the higher 
esteem of him, I will make him, in a few days, Earl of 
Leicester, and Baron of Denbigh." Soon afterward 
Elizabeth fulfilled her pledge, and with her own hand 
placed the coronet of an earl upon his brow, and 
when the splendid ceremonies were over, she turned 



MART QUEEN OF SOOTS. 99 

to Melvil and asked his opinion of Dudley. He 
replied, " that as he was a worthy servant, so he was 
happy who had a princess who could discern and 
reward good service." Pointing to Darnley, who, as 
nearest prince of the blood, bore the sword of honor, 
she added, "Yet you like better yonder long lad." 
"With a courtier's deceptive speech, he told her " that 
no woman of spirit would make choice of such a man, 
who was more like a woman than a man, for he was 
handsome, beardless, and lady-faced." 

During repeated interviews, Elizabeth affirmed that 
if Mary would marry Lord Dudley, the matter of 
succession would be arranged. She said "that it was 
her own resolution to remain till her death, a virgin 
Queen, and that nothing would compel her to change 
her mind, except the undutiful behavior of the Queen, 
her sister." Melvil records, that upon his departure for 
Scotland, " she used all the means she could to oblige 
me to persuade the Queen, my mistress, of the great 
love she did bear unto her, and that she was fully 
minded to put away all jealousies and suspicions, and 
in times-coming to entertain a stricter friendship than 
formerly." The conclusion seems inevitable, that 
Elizabeth was patriotic as well as ambitious, and the 
glory of England was more attractive than the heart- 
less mockery of love in a royal marriage. It doubt- 
less would have been her choice, that Mary should 
live single like herself, and this policy entered into 
her proposal of Lord Dudley, who, she must have 
known, would have been rejected without the condi- 
tion of the renewed succession to the Queen of Scots. 



100 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

The following letter is an interesting review of the 
events which have been related : 

THE QUEEN OP SCOTS TO THE AECHBISHOP OF GLASGOW.* 

"From Lislebourg, 2nd November, 1564. 
"Monsieur de Glascow, the bearer of this, has beg- 
ged so earnestly to be taken into my service, that, 
without considering his youth, as I had before done, 
I would not let him set out without this short letter, 
in which I shall give you much news, referring to that 
which I have commanded him to say relative to the 
appointments of the Duke,f and of the Earl of Len- 
nox, for the doing of which the more easily, it was 
necessary that this duke should resign to you the pro- 
vostship of Glasgow, agreeably to the promise which 
he made you. I assured him that you would assent 
either to my disposing of it, or reserving it for you, 
being certain that, at my request, and for my service, 
you would at any time give it back to the said Earl 
of Lennox, as the bearer will tell you ; also about the 
return of Melvil, whom I sent to the Queen, my good 
sister, with an apology for some letters which I had 
written to her, and which she considered rather rude ; 
but she took the interpretation which he put upon 
them in good part, and has since sent me Eandolph, 

* James Beathon, or Betlnin, the last Catholic Archbishop of Glas- 
gow, fled from Scotland when the Catholic religion fell into disre- 
pute, and retired to France, where he acted as ambassador for Mary, 
and her son James VI, for the period of twenty years. He died in 
Paris in 1603, at the age of 86. 

f The Earl of Arran, created Due de Chatellerault, by the King of 
France. 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 101 

who is here at present, and lias brought me some very- 
kind and polite letters, written by her own hand, con- 
taining fair words, and some complaints that the 

Queen* and her ambassador, had 

assured her that I had published in mockery propo- 
sals which she had made me to marry Lord Robert.f 
I cannot imagine that any of those over there could 
wish to embroil me so much with her, since I have 
neither spoken to anybody, nor written respecting 
this proposal, not even to the Queen, who, I am sure, 
would not have borne such testimony against me ; 
but I have thought of writing about it to M. de Foix, 
and to Baptiste. In the meantime, if you hear any- 
thing, talk to him on his return from England ; let 
me know, but do not mention a word about what I 
am writing to you to any one whatever. 

" For the rest, I shall hold the Parliament on the 5th 
of next month, for the sole purpose of reinstating the 
Earl of Lennox in his possessions, and afterward I 
shall not fail to dispatch to you a gentleman, who will 
acquaint you with all that has occurred, more at 
length than I can inform you at present. Meanwhile 
I beg you to answer the letters I wrote to you by 
Holland, and give me a circumstantial account of all 
the news where you are. I conclude at present, recom- 
mending myself heartily to you, praying God to give 
you his grace. 

" Your very kind mistress and friend, 

"MaryB." 

* Catherine, Queen of France. 

\ Lord Eobert Dudley, afterward Earl of Leicester. 



102 MAKY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

At the beginning of the year 1565, Mary Stuart, 
having retired to St. Andrews for an interlude to the 
cares of the palace, Randolph visited her there at the 
repeated solicitation of Elizabeth. He has given a 
sketch of the interview. 

" Her grace lodged in a merchant's house ; her 
train was very few ; and there was small repair from 
any part. Her will was, that, for the time that I did 
tarry I should dine and sup with her. Your majesty 
was oftentimes dranken unto by her, at dinners and 
suppers. Having in this sort continued with her 
grace Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, I thought it 
time to take occasion to utter that which last I re- 
ceived in command from your majesty, by Mr. Sec- 
retary's letter ; which was to know her grace's reso- 
lution, touching those matters propounded at Berwick 
by my Lord of Bedford and me, to my Lord of Mur- 
ray, and Lord of Liddington ; I had no sooner spoken 
these words, but she saith, ' I see now well that you 
are weary of this company and treatment ; I sent for 
you to be merry, and to see how like a Bourgeoise wife 
I live, with my little troop, and you will interrupt our 
pastime with your great and grave matters ; I pray 
you, sir, if you be weary here, return home to Edin- 
burgh, and keep your gravity and great embassade 
until the Queen come thither ; for I assure you, you 
hall not get her here, nor I know not myself where 
she is become ; you see neither cloth of estate, nor 
such appearance that you may think there is a Queen 
here ; nor I would not that you should think that I 
am she at St. Andrews, that I was at Edinburgh.' 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 103 

" I said that I was very sorry for that, for that at 
Edinburgh she said that she did love my mistress, the 
Queen's majesty, better than any other, and now I 
marveled how her mind was altered. It pleased her 
at this to be very merry, and called me by more 
names than were given me at my christening. At 
these merry conceits much good sport was made. 
< But well, sir, ' saith she, ' that which then I spoke in 
words shall be confirmed to my good sister, your mis- 
tress, in writing ; before you go out of this town you 
shall have a letter unto her, and for yourself, go where 
you will, I care no more for you.' The next day I 
was willed to be at my ordinary table, being placed 
the next person (saving worthy Beaton*) to the 
Queen's self. 

« Very merrily she passeth her time : after dinner 
she rideth abroad. It pleased her the most part of 
the time to talk with me ; she had occasion to speak 
much of France, for the honor she received there ; to 
be wife unto a great king, and for friendship shown 
unto her in particular, by many, for which occasions 
she is bound to love the nation, to show them pleas- 
ure and to do them good. 

" Her acquaintance is not so forgotten there, nor 
her friendship so little esteemed, but yet it is divers 
ways sought to be continued. She hath of her peo- 
ple, many well affected that way, for the nourriture 
that they have had there, and the commodity of ser- 

*Mary Beaton, who, from her infancy, had been a maid of honor. 
She was the niece of Cardinal Beaton. 



104: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

vice, as those of the guard, and men at arms ; be 
sides, privileges great for the merchants, more than 
ever were granted to any nation. What privately, 
of long time, hath been sought, and yet is, for myself 
to yield unto their desires in my marriage, her ma- 
jesty cannot be ignorant, and you have heard. To 
have such friends, and see such offers (without assu- 
rance of as good,) nobody will give me advice that 
loveth me. Not to marry, you know, it cannot be for 
me : to defer it long, many incommodities ensue. 
How privy to my mind, your mistress hath been here- 
in ; how willing I am to follow her advice, I have 
shown many times, and jet can I find in her no 
resolution nor determination. For nothing, I cannot 
be bound unto her ; and to France, my will against 
her. I have lately given assurance to my brother of 
Murray and Licldington, that I am loath, and so do 
now show urito yourself, if your mistress did, as she 
hath said, use me as her natural born sister or daugh- 
ter, I will show no less readiness to oblige and honor 
her than my elder sister or mother ; but, if she will 
repute me always but as her neighbor, Queen of Scots, 
how willingly soever I be to live in amity, and to main- 
tain peace ; yet must she not look for that at my hands, 
that otherwise I would, or she desireth. To forsake 
friendship offered, and present commodity for uncer- 
tainty, no friend will advise me, nor your mistress 
herself approve my wisdom. Let her, therefore, 
measure my case as her own, and so will I be to her. 
For these causes, until my sister and I have further 
proceeded, I must apply my mind to the advice of 



MARY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 105 

those that seem to tender most my profit, that show 
their care over me, and wish me most good." 

At this crisis, Darnley, a youth of nineteen, joined 
his father in Scotland. The motives which governed 
Elizabeth in permitting him to leave her realm, are 
not certainly known. It is most natural, certainly, to 
suppose, that while continental princes were expec- 
tant of success, and Darnley's presence could not 
make matters worse ; she also granted the request as 
a condescension to him. The young lord was a 
shrewd dissembler, and a captivating suitor. He 
placed himself under Murray's guidance — in the 
morning went to hear Knox preach, and in the even- 
ing danced a galliard with Mary. The Protestant 
church he would thus conciliate, and also secure the 
favor of the court. Educated a Catholic, he was 
neither a devotee of Rome, nor an adherent of Knox. 
But Murray was not so easily won. 

From this moment the struggle began between the 
two candidates of the Reformers and Catholics ; be- 
tween Leicester, who was supported by Lethington 
and Murray — and Darnley, who was strongly su- 
stained by the Earl of Athol, all the Scottish barons 
who had remained faithful to their ancient creed, and 
aai Italian named David Rizzio, who had succeeded 
Raullet as the Queen's Secretary for French corres- 
pondence, and who had already gained great influ- 
ence over her. Lethington, at this time, wrote to 
Cecil a number of letters, full of the most polite con- 
siderations, in favor of a marriage which he thought 



106 MAEY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 

might be so useful to their common cause and their 
two countries, and besought him to obtain from Eliz- 
abeth that concession which alone was needed to en- 
sure its success. But Elizabeth complained that this 
was transforming the negotiation too much into a 
matter of bargain, and jocularly told Melvil, that 
Lethington, in his constant allusions to the succession, 
was, like a death-watch, ever ringing her knell in her 
ears. Lethington replied that his mistress merely 
sought a probable reason to lay against the objections 
of foreign princes, that they might see that no vain 
or light conceit had moved her to yield to the Queen 
of England's request in her marriage. As for him- 
self, giving way to an enthusiasm which was far from 
habitual in him, he reminded Cecil of the union of 
England and Scotland, which would be effectuated by 
this marriage, in language full of noble patriotism. 
" Such a stroke of policy," he remarked, " would 
secure for us a more glorious memory, a more unfa- 
ding gratitude in the ages to come, than belongs to 
those who did most valiantly, serve king Edward the 
First in his conquest, or king Robert, the Bruce, in 
his recovery of the country." 

Murray took a similar view, and urged the claims 
of Lord Dudley. If Elizabeth was ambitious in re- 
fusing to nominate her sister successor, Mary was no 
less aspiring in rejecting Dudley, if the English 
crown prospectively were not made the premium of 
acceptance. A definite declaration becoming neces- 
sary, Elizabeth directed Randolph to communicate to 
Mary Stuart, her decision not to recognize the right 



MARY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 107 

of succession in any emergency ; but if the Earl of 
Leicester were accepted as such, she would have no 
cause to repent the confidence reposed in her munifi- 
cence. "When the message was delivered, the Queen 
of Scots wept long and violently. The storm passed, 
and Mary's feelings and purpose turned toward Darn- 
ley. She admired him, and there was probably more 
affection indulged than she had known toward any 
other lover since Francis died. The step was one of 
collision with Murray, who opposed the marriage, and 
developed the opposition of the Protestant party, with 
the hostility of the Hamiltons, foes of Lennox ; while 
Elizabeth saw in it a probable alliance with the Cath- 
olic powers of Europe, which would array against 
her the subjects of her own realm who maintained 
the Romish faith. Mary having settled the choice of 
a husband, addressed herself to the work of reducing 
the strength of opposers. She recalled from France 
the dissolute Earl of Bothwell, to confront Murray, 
whom he intensely hated, and proposed the restora- 
tion of Earl Huntly, whose family Murray had dis- 
graced. She likewise endeavored to convert her 
brother to her plans, by commanding his return to 
the court from which he had withdrawn, and de- 
manding his signature to a paper approving her mar- 
riage. This he refused, and gave reasons of state 
and church policy. Mary was indignant, and with- 
out sufficient ground, charged him with aiming his 
rebellion at her crown. The result was open war be- 
tween them. 

Murray appeared in Edinburgh with five or six 



108 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

thousand men, to procure Bothwell's condemnation, 
and entered into a league with the Duke of Chatell- 
erault and Earl of Argyle for mutual aid and de- 
fence. He conferred with the Protestant clergy con- 
cerning their protection, and applied, through Ran- 
dolph to Elizabeth, for whatever help she might be 
willing to afford. The choice of Darnley had been de- 
clared in the Privy Council of the Queen of England, 
"prejudicial to both Queens, and consequently dan- 
gerous to the weal of both countries." She sent 
Throckmorton to carry to Mary Stuart that opinion, 
and once more propose Lord Dudley. When he 
reached Scotland, it was quite too late to interfere. 
She had not only watched at the sick bed of Darnley, 
but on the 1st of May, 1565, she announced to a con- 
vention of the nobility, which she had called for the 
purpose, her intention of marrying him. The meas- 
ure was approved unanimously ; and she then added 
to Darnley's honors, the lordship of Ardmanoch, and 
the earldom of Ross. She replied to Throckmorton's 
message : " As to her good sister's great dislike to 
the match, this was, indeed, a marvelous circum- 
stance, since the selection was made in conformity to 
the Queen's wishes, as communicated by Mr. Ran- 
dolph. She had rejected all foreign suitors, and had 
chosen an Englishman, descended from the blood 
royal of both kingdoms, and the first prince of the 
blood in England ; and one whom she believed would, 
for these reasons, be acceptable to the subjects of both 
realms." 

Mary postponed the wedding, if possible, to propi- 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 109 

tiate her powerful neighbor, and avoid a hopeless 
alienation. Elizabeth was enraged, and sent the 
Countess of Lennox, Darnley's mother, who was still 
in England, to the Tower, and summoned the Earl 
and his son to return. Lennox refused, until assured 
of the Queen's favor. Darnley rejDlied to the mes- 
senger, with more spirit : " I do now acknowledge 
no other duty or obedience but to the Queen here, 
whom I love and honour ; and seeing that the other, 
your mistress, is so envious of my good fortune, I 
doubt not but she may have need of me, as you shall 
know within a few days. Wherefore to return I in- 
tend not; I find myself very well where I am, and 
so purpose to keep me ; and this shall be your an- 



swer." 



Elizabeth assured the Reformers of her support, 
who made a desperate effort to prevent the marriage. 
The General Assembly of the Scottish Church met 
at the call of Knox and Earl of Argyle, and resolved 
to petition the Queen for the abolition of mass, and 
uniformity of the established religion throughout her 
kingdom. She conceded their right to maintain di- 
vine worship as they desired, but claimed the same 
toleration toward himself. While she calmed the 
fears of many, Murray, whose whole nature was in a 
glow of indignation, in which blended the fires of 
hate to Popery and personal enemies, and the appre- 
hension of peril to both church and state, headed a 
plot to surprise Mary and Darnley, on their way from 
Perth to Callendar — either kill, or deliver him to 
the English — imprison Mary, and reinstate Murray. 



110 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

The conspiracy was detected, and the only alternative 
was a general revolt. 

Murray called the people to arms, and Mary sum- 
moned the vassals of the crown to assemble immedi- 
ately at Edinburgh, prepared for war. She issued a 
proclamation, designed to keep the church tranquil, 
and for the first time attended at Oallendar, the ser- 
vices of a Presbyterian minister, and heard the gos- 
pel from what she deemed heretical lips. This was a 
sacrifice of conscience, to prevent an uprising of the 
Reformers to join the rebellious nobles. She felt the 
need of haste, to remove inducements to opposition, 
and creating Darnley Duke of Albany, she received, 
July 22d, a dispensation from the Pope of Rome, 
making legal her marriage with a cousin, and ap- 
pointed Sunday, the 29th, as the day for the nuptials. 
The preceding clay she gave Darnley the title of King, 
which completely intoxicated his brain, and he began 
to show his consciousness of authority. Wise men 
shook their heads at the strides the " long lad " was 
making. 

The Sabbath-dawn had scarcely reached the zenith 
of heaven, when, between five and six o'clock, Mary, 
in her rich mourning apparel, and the noble form 
of Darnley, entered the royal chapel of Holyrood. 
The Dean of Restabrig performed the ceremony ; 
the Queen, after the matrimonial salutation from 
Darnley, kneeled at the altar to hear 'mass, while he 
retired to the chase — avoiding, by this movement, 
the increased suspicion of the Protestants. Upon 
reaching her palace, Mary put off the sable attire, 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. Ill 

and appeared in magnificent bridal robes. A ban- 
quet followed. The Earls Athol, Morton, Crawford, 
Eglington and Carsilles, were table attendants. Mon- 
ey was scattered among the gathered populace, and 
the scene concluded with dancing and festivity. 
Darnley flaunted in kingly splendor, and Mary Stu- 
art dreamed of a glorious future, as the silence of 
morning succeeded " music's voluptuous swell," and 
the hum of excited guests — a brief and delusive 
vision ! 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE IMMEDIATE RESULTS OF MART'S MARRIAGE WITH DARNLEY CAMPAIGN 

AGAINST MURRAY MARY STUART IS VICTORIOUS SHE WRITES TO ARCH- 
BISHOP OF GLASGOW ISSUES A PROCLAMATION SHE DISCLOSES HER 

PLANS FOR RESTORING THE CATHOLIC FAITH LETTER TO PHILIP II. OF 

SPAIN MARY MARCHING A THIRD TIME AGAINST MURRAY, TOTALLY 

ROUTES HIS FACTION HE FLIES TO ENGLAND ELIZABETH EXTORTS A 

CONFESSION THAT SHE DID NOT ENCOURAGE THE REBELLION MARY'S POL- 
ICY RIZZIO'S ELEVATION DARNLEY LOSES THE QUEEN'S CONFIDENCE 

HIS ASPIRATIONS DARNLEY PLOTS RIZZIo's DEATH THE TRAGEDY MA- 

RY'S FEELINGS AND CONDUCT MARY IS A CAPTIVE DARNLEY RELENTS 

THE FLIGHT MARY GATHERS AN ARMY CAMPAIGNS AND VICTORIES 

TROUBLE WITH DARNLEY INCREASES A SON IS BORN CONGRATULA- 
TIONS ANTICIPATIONS BOTHWELL AND MARY EXCURSIONS DARN- 

LEY'S PLANS YIELDS TO MARY THE CHRISTENING A DIVORCE OR 

MURDER SUGGESTED TO MARY THE CONSPIRACY MARY'S GUILT THE 

ISSUE. 

Mary's marriage to Lord Darnley was a decisive 
stroke in her destiny — the glory-gilded summit, from 
which her descent to a sea-girdled prison began. The 
friendly correspondence that had for four years existed 
between the Queen of Scots and Elizabeth, closed ; 
and a hostility commenced, which necessarily involved 
their kingdoms. Murray had not been idle, during 
the hymenial festivities of his sister. He wrote to 
the Earl of Bedford, to " crave his comfort, as of one 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 113 

to whom God had granted to know the subtle devices 
of Satan, against the innocent professors of the gos- 
pel, to stir up the powers of the world against the 
same." Randolph urged Elizabeth to aid Murray, 
"unless she wished to see Protestantism, and the 
English party in Scotland, fall together." She had 
said to the revolutionists, " Keep your sovereign by 
all lawful means from doing wrong, and you shall 
have all the help which I can give you, but it is no 
part of a subject's duty to oppose her by force." The 
assistance offered was scarcely more than a small sum 
of money, leaving the insurgents to their own resour- 
ces. Meanwhile, the bride and bridegroom hastened 
preparations for the campaign. In the capital, " the 
swash, the taborin and the drum, were stricken through 
the streets, to raise recruits for the army." 

Mary marched forth to meet the enemy. Darnley 
rode by her side in " gilded armor," — Earl of Lennox 
lead the army, Chancellor Morton commanded the 
centre, and the King and Queen, attended by Parson 
Balfour, David Rizzio, and another Italian musician, 
brought up the rear. This force moved so rapidly 
against Murray, that he was compelled to % from 
Stirling to Glasgow, and thence into the domain of 
his ally, the Earl of Argyle. Mary sent back the 
English Envoy, Tamworth, dispatched by Elizabeth 
with a " haughty message," who, leaving a spirited 
reply, was intercepted by a band, because he refused 
to acknowledge Darnley, King, and carried a prisoner 
to Hume Castle. The fugitive Reformers had no al- 
ternative, but to collect their available strength, and 



114: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

march to Edinburgh, the metropolis of the realm, and 
the strong-hold of Protestantism. With a thousand 
men Murray reached the capital, expecting a general 
uprising of the people. To his amazement, there was 
no sympathy displayed ; none came to his standard, 
and his ranks were fired upon by the ordnance of the 
castle. The citizens, whatever their opposition to 
Catholicism, were not prepared to rise in rebellion 
against their beautiful Queen. 

Another appeal was made by the party in revolt to 
Cecil, the Queen's adviser, and Earl of Bedford, who 
commanded the Englis^army on the frontier, for 
three thousand men, anC^Bips of war, to cruise in the 
Forth. Elizabeth delayed, and Mary improved the 
time. She assembled a force of ten thousand men, 
and swept Murray's adherents from Edinburgh, like 
leaves in the hurricane's path. She then marched 
into the county of Eife, and taught sudmission to the 
offending barons. Her perfect form on a dashing 
charger, with pistols at her saddle bow, and a glow of 
intense excitement on her lovely face, made the Queen 
of Scots a strangely fascinating object, amid the evo- 
lutions of a conquering host. But there were stormy 
passions beneath that surface so radiant with beauty. 
Pursuing to Dumfries the departed Earl of Murray, 
retreating toward the English border, she declared to 
Randolph that she would rather peril her crown than 
lose her revenge. 

Leaving her routed foe, she communicated in a let- 
ter to the Archbishop of Glasgow, in France, her 
plans, and view of the civil war. 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 115 

THE QUEEN. OF SCOTS TO THE AECHBISHOP OF GLASGOW. 

" From Lislebourg, 1st October^ 1565. 

" Monsieur de Glascow : I am greatly astonished ; 
for a very long time I have received no tidings from 
you, not even Mauvissiere, who calls himself am- 
bassador from the King. I beg you will let me hear 
oftener from you. As for any news here, you must 
know that Mauvissiere was commissioned to treat 
preliminarily between me and the Queen, my neigh- 
bor. This I willingly agree to ; but as to treating 
with my subjects, having conducted themselves as 
they have done, I had rather lose all. 

" ]Now, I am,sure, you noaist have heard enough upon 
this subject from your brother, and since, from Chal 
mer : and there is nothing of very recent occurrence, 
but that they are getting worse and worse, and are 
now at Dumfries, where they have resolved to stay 
until I leave this place, which will be to-morrow, and 
then they will go, as I am informed, to Annan, which 
they propose to defend against me with the aid of 
three hundred English arquebusiers of the garrison 
of England : and they boast that they shall receive 
more succors, both by sea and land, so as to be able 
to make head against our army, which is to set out 
to-morrow, or the next day at the latest, and with 
which the King and I intend to go in person, hoping 
that, the time of the proclamation having expired, we 
shall retire and give them time to wait for the army 
of the Queen of England, which is to be ready next 
spring. Urge the Queen as often as you can, and by 
all the means in your power, to send us men and mon- 



116 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

ey in this emergency, and then write forthwith what 
I have to hope for : and beware, above all things, of 
exciting the jealousy of a certain person whom you 
know, and with whom you must privately use the 
like persuasions. Something was known at court 
about your dealings with Bay. 

" I shall write you more fully on the first opportu- 
nity ; but above all, keep a good look-out, and see if 
my rebels hold any secret communication over there 
with the Protestants, or Chatillon ; and if the Duke 
and Earl of Murray have any agent about the Queen, 
whom yon may assure that they have full liberty of 
conscience, and that this is not the motive which influ- 
ences them, nor the public welfare ; for I have made 
no changes in the order of things to which they have 
themselves consented ; and if they were not at the 
council, it has been because I never could get them 
to come to it after my marriage, except a few, who, 
after taking part against them, subsequently went 
over to their side, which they now begin to repent of, 
and among others the duke and Gudo, . . . who 
have sent me word to that effect. 

" Yesterday, Dromleveriel and Lowener sent to me 
to beg pardon, saying they would serve us, assuring 
me they had forsaken them, finding their intentions 
so different from what they represented. The traitor 
Maxwell is deeply ashamed of having so basely bro- 
ken his faith with me ; he does not appear disposed 
to send his son to England as an hostage, not having 
forgotten how his last was treated ; this he sent me 
Word himself. In short, when England perceives that 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 117 

we have ever so little succor to hope for, they will 
draw back, I should think, from seeing those people 
so disheartened. You will see the memorandum 
which I have given to the bearer, of what he is to 
say to the king, instead of instructions. Tell me how 
he acquits himself of his commission, for I assure you 
he is more English than Scotch. Here I conclude, 
praying God to grant you a happy and long life, 
"Your very good mistress and friend, 

" Mary B." 

She expressed her estimate of the rebels fully, in a 
proclamation issued at this crisis of affairs. 

" Certain rebels, the authors of this uproar lately 
raised up' against us, have given the people to under- 
stand that the quarrel they have in hand is only reli- 
gion, thinking with that cloak to cover their ungodly 
designs, and to draw after them a large train of igno- 
rant persons, easy to be seduced Their 

ambition could not be satisfied with heaping riches 
upon riches, and honor upon honor, unless they retain 
in their hands, us, and our whole realm, to be led, 
used, and disposed at their pleasure. We must be 
forced to govern by counsel, such as it shall please 
them to appoint us — and what other thing is this, 
but to dissolve the whole policy, and (in a manner) 
to invert the very order of nature, to make the prince 
obey, and subjects command. The like was never 
demanded by any of our most noble progenitors here- 
tofore, yea, not of governors and regents. When we, 
ourselves, were of less age, and at our first returning 



IIS MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

into this, onr realm, we had free choice of our coun- 
cil at our pleasure, and now, when we are at our full 
maturity, shall we be brought back to the state of 
pupils, and be put under tutory ? This is the quarrel 
of religion they made you believe they had in hand ; 
this is the quarrel for which they would have you 
hazard your lands, lives, and goods, in the company 
of a certain number of rebels, against your natural 
prince. To speak in good (plain) language, they 
would be kings themselves, or at the least, leaving to 
us the bare name and title, and take to themselves the 
credit and whole administration of the kingdom." 

She concluded with a promise of security to their 
possessions, and liberty of conscience, on condition 
of loyalty to their sovereign. A final entreaty was 
sent by the insurgents to Elizabeth, to save the im- 
periled church, and deliver the persecuted, who were 
exposed to Mary's displeasure, they affirmed, through 
the baneful influence of Rizzio and Darnley, both 
foreigners, assuming without right or the consent of 
the people, authority in the cabinet and over the 
kingdom. She had ordered troops and money to be 
placed at the command of Murray ; but a few days 
later, hearing of his defeat, countermanded the order 
and abandoned the cause, with an expression of live- 
ly sympathy. The English Queen was cautious and 
artful, with a steady eye upon the glory of her realm, 
and the proud distinction of reigning alone. 

Mary Stuart having gained the ascendency, no lon- 
ger disguised her wishes and plans. Under the di- 
rection of her secretary, Rizzio, she began to plot the 



MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 119 

restoration of the Romish faith. Darnley united with 
her in an application to Philip II., of Spain, and the 
Pope, for aid in the undertaking, justifying their 
cause by the applications made already to Elizabeth. 
Her letter to Philip discloses her intentions. 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO KING PHILIP IL 

" To the King of Spain. 

"Monsieur my good brother — the interest which 
you have always taken in the maintenance and sup- 
port of our Catholic religion, induced me some time 
since to solicit your favor and assistance, as I foresaw 
what has now taken place in the kingdom, and which 
tends to the utter ruin of the Catholics, and to the 
establishment of those unfortunate errors, which, were 
I and the King my husband to oppose, we should be 
in danger of losing our crown, as well as all pre- 
tensions we have elsewhere, unless we are aided by 
one of the great princes of Christendom. 

" Having duly considered this, as likewise the con- 
stancy you have displayed in your kingdoms, and 
with what firmness you have supported, more than 
any other prince, those who have depended on your 
favor, we have determined upon addressing ourselves 
to you, in preference to any other, to solicit your ad- 
vice, and to strengthen ourselves with your aid and 
support To obtain this, we have dispatched to you 
this English gentleman, a Catholic, and a faithful ser- 
vant of the King, my husband, and of myself, with 
ample directions to give you an account of the state 
©f our affairs, which he is well acquainted with ; and 



120 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

we beg you to believe him as you would do ourselves, 
aud to send him back as soon as possible ; for occa- 
sions are so urgent, that it is of importance both for 
the crown and the liberty of the church ; to maintain 
which we will risk our lives and our kingdom, pro- 
vided we are assured of your assistance and advice. 

" After kissing your hands, I pray God to give you, 
monsieur my good brother, every prosperity and feli 
city. Your very good sister, 

" Mart K." 

This monarch, who was the royal head of Papacy in 
Europe, sent, in reply to her solicitation, twenty thou- 
sand crowns, and wrote to. the Pope, who added eight 
thousand more. This pontiff expressed his regrets that 
he could not then offer any other assistance, and also 
said that the hope of asserting, by armed force, Mary's 
right of succession to the throne of England must not 
be renounced, and gives the reason: "This project 
concerns the cause of God, which is mentioned by the 
Queen of Scotland, since it is evidently the only door 
by which religion can enter into the kingdom of Eng- 
land, for all others are now shut." 

Refusing mediation offered by Castelnau de Mau- 
vissiere, the French ambassador, affirming in a proud 
speech, " I would rather lose all than treat with my 
subjects," she a third time, October 9th, accompa- 
nied by Bothwell and Huntley, marched with about 
twelve thousand men toward Dumfries, to expel the 
remnant of the revolutionary party. Murray's small 
force was routed at the first onset, and he fled into 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 121 

England on the 14th of the same month. The Queen 
of Scots was victorious, and in the giddiness of ele- 
vation, she resorted to vengeance. She determined 
to condemn as traitors the rebel lords, and with the 
sympathy of the English Catholics, she thought to 
make even the haughty Elizabeth repent of whatever 
encouragement she had given the insurgents. She 
incautiously remarked to some of her nobles, who 
expressed a fear that her continual riding and much 
exposure to storms, would prove exhausting — " That 
she would never cease to continue in such fatigues, 
until she had led them into London." Her tone be- 
came dictatorial to Elizabeth, who in turn was sur- 
prised and perplexed. The Spanish and French 
ambassadors at her court, increased her embarrass- 
ment by defending Mary's interests. Elizabeth col- 
lected troops on the frontier, and summoned promi- 
nent Catholic nobles in council, the real motive of 
which was, apprehension that they were favorable to 
the designs of her now resolute and enthusiastic rival. 
To calm Mary's displeasure, she also affected indigo 
nation towards Murray, and made him publicly deny 
that he had received the least aid from her in the re- 
bellion. Then addressing him in the presence of the 
French, ambassador, she said, angrily : 

" It is well that you have told the truth ; for neither 
did I, nor any one else in my name, ever encourage 
you in your unnatural rebellion against your sover- 
eign ; nor, to be mistress of a world, could I main- 
tain any subject in disobedience to his prince ; it 
might move God to punish me by a similar trouble 
F 



122 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

in my own realm ; but as for you two, ye are unwor- 
thy traitors, and I command you instantly to leave 
my presence." 

There is a consistency in this with the rule Eliza- 
beth had before given, in respect to the duty of sub- 
jects. It is not certain that she favored the uprising 
of the people as designed by Murray, however she 
desired to prevent a marriage she disliked, or feared 
Mary's pretensions. The Queen of Scots was advised 
to be merciful to her foes, as a matter of policy at 
least, to increase her power, and avoid occasion of fur- 
ther complaint with Elizabeth. But passion ruled the 
sovereign, and following the advice of her foreign 
relatives, she planned the death of offenders, by con- 
demnation, at the meeting of the next Parliament. 

David BIzzio, since he came to Mary's court, in 
1562, in the suite of the Count of Moretto, the Savoy 
ambassador, had been gaining ascendency over the 
Queen. From the office of valet, he rose to that of 
private secretary in 1564, on the removal of Raulet. 
He was now at the zenith of influence in the palace. 
" The greater part of the affairs of the kingdom passed 
through his hands. He managed them with so much 
prudence, and brought them to so satisfactory a con- 
clusion, that he was greatly beloved by her majesty." 
Gorgeous in ecpiipage and style of lining, flattered 
and caressed, he became haughty and presumptuous. 
Mary's reputation was injured by his singular influ- 
ence and royal living. Elizabeth, complaining of 
Murray's presumption, said, " That it was all owing 
to an Italian named David, whom the Queen of Scot- 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS 123 

land loved and favored, and granted more credit and 
authority than were authorized by her affairs and 
honor." 

Rizzio was in the pay of the Pope, and urged Mary 
to severity towards the rebels. Darnley meanwhile 
had been losing the confidence and affection of the 
Queen. Sir William Drury wrote to Secretary Cecil, 
in the following strain : 

" All people say that Darnley is too much addicted 
to drinking. 'Tis certainly reported there was some 
jar betwixt the Queen and him, at an entertainment 
in a merchant's house in Edinburgh, she only dis- 
suaded him from drinking too much himself, and en- 
ticing others ; in both which he proceeded, and gave 
her such words that she left the place with tears ; 
which they that are known to their proceedings, say 
is not strange to be seen. These jars arise, amongst 
other things, from his seeking the matrimonial crown, 
which she will not yield unto ; the calling in of the 
coin, wherein they were both, and the duke's (of Cha- 
tellerault) finding so favorable address ; which hath 
much displeased both him and his father. Darnley 
is in great misliking with the Queen ; she is very 
weary of him ; and, as some judge, will be more so 
ere long ; for true it is, that those who depencf wholly 
upon him, are not liked of her ; nor they that follow 
her, of him ; as David Rizzio, and others ; some say 
she likes the duke better now than formerly ; so some 
think, that if there should be the quarrel betwixt her 
and Darnley, which she could not appease, that she 



124: MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

will use the duke's aid in that affair. There also have 
arisen some unkind speeches about signing letters : 
he, immediately after his marriage, signing first, 
which she will not allow of now. His government is 
very much blamed, for he is thought to be wilful and 
haughty, and some say vicious ; whereof too many 
were witnesses, the other day at Juchkeith, with the 
Lord Robert, Fleming, and such like grave person- 
ages." 

The arrogant Darnley had repeatedly urged Mary 
to confer upon him the crown matrimonial ; that is 
to say, an equal share in the government of the realm, 
which was granted to Francis II., her first husband. 
She steadily refused the request, because she despised 
his inefficiency, and had lost whatever affection she 
entertained for him at an early period of their ac- 
quaintance. The disappointed Darnley, jealous of 
Rizzio's familiar friendship for Mary, and seeing a 
domestic war inevitable, charged his own failure and 
her displeasure upon the Italian secretary. He was 
the captive of ambition, stimulated by that domoniac 
passion, which, " is the rage of a man ; therefore he 
will not spare in the day of vengeance." The purpose 
was formed, to remove the hated object, and disclosed 
to his cousin George Douglas. He also sent Douglas 
to confer with Lord Ruthven, concerning his griefs, 
and plans of revenge. The assassination of Rizzio, 
and seizing the matrimonial crown, were leading de- 
signs of the conspiracy. 

Lord Ruthven was an invalid, but after a brief 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 125 

visitation, consented to the plot, which was made 
known to Lord Lindsay and Randolph. The latter 
wrote on the subject to Leicester ; from it this passage 
is quoted : 

" I know now for certain, that this Queen repenteth 
her marriage ; that she hateth him (Darnley) and all 
his kin. I know that he knoweth himself that he 
hath a partaker in play and game with him. I know 
that there are practices in hand, contrived between 
the father and son to come by the crown against her 
will. I know that if that take effect which is intend- 
ed, David, with the consent of the King, shall have 
his throat cut within these ten days. Many things 
grievouser and worse than these are brought to my 
ears ; yea, of things intended against her own person, 
which, because I think better to keep secret than 
write to Mr. Secretary (Cecil), I speak not of them 
but now to your lordship." 

The conspiracy progressed secretly, and no suspi- * 
cion of evil darkened the horizon of Rizzio's hopes. 
The friends of Mary and Lennox had united against 
Murray ; and now the adherents of Lennox sought a 
coalition with the party in revolt, to make the blow 
aimed at the crown successful. The Earl of Morton, 
a relative and warm friend of Murray, was a Protest- 
ant, and Chancellor of the Kingdom. The retaining 
of his lucrative and honorable office was motive suffi- 
cient to induce him to act as the leader of the enter- 
prise. He was equal to the emergency. " To obtain 



126 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

the concurrence of the principal ministers and most 
powerful persons of the Reformed party ; to bring back 
the exiles, and to restore to them the authority which 
they had lost ; to secure the support of Elizabeth and 
her chief ministers, Cecil and Leicester ; to murder 
Rizzio ; to dissolve the Parliament, about to be con- 
voked for the purpose of legally consummating the 
ruin of the fugitive lords ; to imprison the Queen ; 
to confer the nominal sovereignty upon Darnley ; to 
replace Murray at the head of the government : such 
was the plan conceived by Morton, and adopted in 
Scotland by Lords Lindsay, Ruthven, and Lethington, 
. by Knox and Craig, the two ministers of Edinburgh, 
Bellenden, the justice-clerk, Makgill, the clerk-regis- 
ter, and the lairds of Brunston, Calder, and Ormiston. 
The Earl of Lennox himself proceeded to England to 
communicate it to Murray, Rothes, Glencairn, Grange, 
and Ochiltree, the father-in-law of Knox, who readily 
embraced it, and agreed to repair to the frontier, so 
as to be ready to return to Edinburgh as soon as the 
plot had succeeded." 

This daring and comprehensive conspiracy was 
expressed in two solemn covenants, embracing both 
the King and the instruments of his ambition. The 
former set forth Darnley's determination to protect 
the Queen's honor, by seizing the abusers of her "gen- 
tle and good nature," and with the assistance of cer- 
tain of the nobility and others, if those enemies of 
the realm resisted, " to cut them off immediately, 
and to slay them wherever it happened." The King 
was committed to the defence of his confederates at all 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 127 

hazards. The latter obligation bound the actors in 
the bloody plot, to the support of Darnley in his am- 
bitious schemes against all his enemies. 

Kandolph and Earl of Bedford wrote to Elizabeth's 
secretary on the 6th of March, 1566, a full and most 
confidential account of the matured conspiracy. 
They said : 

"You have heard of divers discords and jars be- 
tween this Queen and her husband, partly for that 
she hath refused him the crown matrimonial, partly 
for that he hath assured knowledge of such usage of 
herself, as altogether is intolerable to be borne, which 
if it were not overwell known, we would both be very 
loath to think that it could be true. To take away 
this occasion of slander, he is himself determined to 
be at the apprehension and execution of him whom 
he is able manifestly to charge with the crime, and to 
have done him the most dishonor that can be to any 
man, much more being as he is. 

"If persuasions to cause the Queen to yield to 
these matters do no good, they propose to proceed 
we know not in what sort. If she be able to make 
any power at home, she shall be withstood, and her- 
self kept from all other counsel than her own nobility. 
If she seek any foreign support, the Queen's majesty, 
our sovereign, shall be sought, and sued unto to 
accept his and their defence, with offers reasonable to 
her majesty's contentment. These are the things 
which we thought and think to be of no small impor- 



128 MARY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 

tance; and knowing them certainly intended, and 
concluded upon, thought it our duties to utter the 
same to you, Mr. Secretary, to make declaration 
thereof as shall seem best to your wisdom." 

Elizabeth offered no opposition to the intrigue. 
Mary was altogether in happy ignorance of it. She 
had seen the disaffection of the nobility toward Riz- 
zio, and bitterly reproached them for a selfish refer- 
ence to their own family glory, without regard to her 
choice of " a man of low estate, poor in means, but 
generous in mind, faithful in heart, and well adapted 
to fill an office." 

The general fast of the Reformed church, which 
had commenced March third, gathered to Edinburgh 
the principal clergy and laymen, among whom Knox 
and Craig preached on topics adapted to the condi- 
tion of affairs. Oreb, and Zeeb, and Hainan, were held 
up as examples of divine justice falling upon the 
heads of guilty princes and their ungodly favorites. 
The conspirator fixed upon Saturday evening, March 
9th, for the closing act of the tragedy. The fatal day 
dawned and waned as usual in the palace, until eight 
o'clock, when Darnley, who had supped earlier than 
was his custom, went by a private staircase to Mary's 
apartments, when she was at tea with Lady Argyle, 
her sister, her brother, Earl of Orkney, Areskine, 
master of her household, her physician, and Rizzio. 
The court-yard was thronged with armed men, and 
the shout of " A Douglas ! — a Douglas ! " reached the 
Queen's ears ; she was in a delicate condition, and 



MARY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 129 

trembled with alarm ; but before she could ask the 
cause of the outcry, Ruthven, clad in a suit of armor, 
and ghastly with lingering disease, broke into the 
room. Mary recoiled from the spectre ; the during 
conspirator exclaimed : 

"Let it please your majesty that yonder man, 
David, come forth of your privy-chamber, where he 
hath been over long." 

The Queen answered, "What offence hath he 
done?" 

Ruthven replied, "That he made a greater and 
more heinous offence to her majesty's honor, the 
King her husband, the nobility, and commonwealth.'' 

" And how % " said she. • 

"If it would please your majesty, he hath offended 
your honor, which I dare not be so bold as to speak 
of. As to the King your husband's honor, he hath 
hindered him of the crown matrimonial, which your 
grace promised him ; besides many other things 
which are not necessary to be expressed, and hath 
caused your majesty to banish a great part of the no- 
bility, and to forfeit them, that he might be made a 
lord. And to your commonwealth he hath been a 
common destroyer, hindring your majesty to grant or 
give anything but what passed through his hands, by 
taking of bribes for the same ; and caused your ma- 
jesty to put at the Lord Ross for his whole land, 
because he would not give over the lands of Melvin 
to the said David, besides many other inconveniences 
that he solicited your majesty to do." Then the Lord 

Ruthven said to the King, " Sir, take the Queen your 
F* 9 



130 MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

wife and sovereign to yon," who stood all amazed, and 
knew not what to do. 

"Then her majesty rose upon her feet and stood be- 
foredDavid, he holding her majesty by the plaits of her 
gown, leaning back over the arch of the window, his 
dagger drawn in his hand : meanwhile, Arthur Ares- 
kin, and the Abbot of Holyrood-House, and the Lord 
Keith, master of the household, with the French 
apothecary, and one of the chamber, began to lay 
hands on the Lord Ruthven, none of the King's party 
being there present. Then the said Lord Rnthven 
pnlled out his dagger, and defended himself until 
more came in, and said to them, ' Lay no hands on 
me, for I will not be handled.' At the coming in of 
others into the cabinet, the said Lord Ruthven pnt 
up his dagger, and with the rushing. in of men, the 
board fell into the wall, meat and candles being 
thereon." 

Poor Rizzio cried out in broken language, " I am 
killed ! " begging piteously for her protection. Amid 
the awful confusion, during which the Queen fainted, 
the terrified secretary was dragged through Mary's 
bed-room into the entrance of her presence chamber, 
where, in spite of Morton's wish to keep him until the 
next day and hang him, George Douglas, seizing the 
King's dagger, stabbed him, saying loudly that it was 
the royal blow. His comrades rushed on, and did 
not leave the bleeding form, until it was pierced with 
fifty-six wounds. The body was thrown out of the 
window into the court-yard, and carried to the por- 
ter's lodge. Mary, upon regaining her self-possession, 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 131 

"was aware from circumstances that attended the mur- 
der, of her husband's connection with it, and indie;- 
nantly reproached him with these words : " My Lord, 
why have you caused to do this wicked deed to me, 
considering that I took you from low estate, and made 
you my husband ; what offence have I given you that 
you should do me such shame?" Ruthven records 
that he replied he had good reason, for since the Ital- 
ian's familiarity with her, she had not " regarded, 
entertained, or trusted him after her wonted fashion." 
Mary replied, " My Lord, all the offence that is done 
me, you have the wite thereof, for the which I shall 
be your wife no longer, nor lie with you any more, 
and shall never like well till I cause you to have as 
sorrowful a heart as I haveat this present." 

After a tumult in the palace, made by an effort to 
expel the King's party, Ruthven left her majesty's 
presence, and upon his return, she inquired after Riz- 
zio's fate. Receiving no direct answer, the following 
conversation transpired, as given by the resolute lord 
who was on the confines of the grave : 

"."What offence or default have I committed, to be 
thus treated ? " 

" Inquire of the King, your husband." 

'\N~ay, I will inquire of you." 

"Madam, if it would please your majesty to re- 
member, that you have for this long time, a number 
of perverse persons, and especially one David, a stran- 
ger, an Italian, who ruled and guided the country 
without advice of the nobility and council ; and es- 
pecially against those peers that were banished." 



132 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

" Were you not one of my council ? Why would 
you not declare, if I did aught amiss ? " 

"Because your majesty would not listen, in all the 
time your majesty was at Dumfries, but whenever 
you called your council together, did things by your- 
self, and your privy persons : albeit, your nobility 
suffer the pains and expense." 

" Well, you find great fault with me ; I will be 
content to set down my crown before the lords of the 
articles,* and if they find that I have offended, to 
give it where they please." 

" God forbid, madam ; but who chose the said lords 
of the articles ? " 

"NotL" 

"Saving your majesty's reverence, you chose them 
all in Seaton, and nominated them ; and as for your 
majesty's council, it hath been suffered to wait full 
long : and what was done, it behooved them to say it 
was your majesty's pleasure, and the lords of the 
articles. Your majesty first chose such as would say 
whatsoever you thought ; and now, when th e lords 
of the articles have sitten certain days, reasoning if 
they could find any principal cause why they should 
be forfeited ? No, madam, not so much as one point, 
except false witness, be brought against them." 

* The Lords of Articles prepared all the matters which were to 
be laid before Parliament; and they not only directed its pro- 
ceedings, but possessed a negative before debate. It should be 
remembered that a Scottish Parliament consisted of great barons, 
ecclesiastics, and a few representatives of boroughs; they com- 
posed but one Assembly, over which the Lord Chancellor presided. 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS.. 133 

Darnley sent forth a proclamation to the magis- 
trates of the city, that Protestants alone should be 
allowed to leave their houses ; and the next day dis- 
charged the Parliament. The night following the 
murder, which deprived Mary of a devoted and val- 
uable servant, shook her sceptre; and wounded her 
honor, was one of extreme agony. The pale and per- 
fect features of the beauty were bathed in tears du- 
ring the silence of midnight, while the victim of her 
partiality was in a dreamless sleep — " life's fitful fever" 
over. Mary was virtually a prisoner in her palace 
— had entered the pemimbra of the total eclipse, 
which, with delusive preludes of brightness, would 
soon bring " the days of darkness." 

Ruthven's savage manner awakened Mary's fears 
for her own safety, and unexpectedly seeing Melvil, 
she desired him to apprize Murray that he would be 
freely pardoned, on the condition of protecting her 
life and liberty. 

The Earls of Huntley and Bothwell, hearing of 
Murray's expected return, and apprehending danger 
to themselves, escaped from the windows of the pal- 
ace by means of a cord, which let them down into 
the open fields. Other lords who were at Holyrood, 
followed the example, and fled. Mary placed her 
hope of deliverance mainly in Darnley, who at length 
sought her presence. Finding her calm amid all the 
fierce agitation around her, he related the particu- 
lars of the successful conspiracy. The following is 
the Queen's record of the closing scenes described : 

" After this deed, the said Lord Ruthven, coming 



134: MART QUEEN OF SCOTS,. 

again in. our presence, declared how they and their 
accomplices were highly offended, with our proceedings 
and tyranny, which was not to them tolerable ; how 
he was abused by the said David, whom they had 
actually put to death ; namely, in taking his counsel 
for maintenance of the ancient religion ; debarring 
the lords who were fugitive, and entertaining amity 
with foreign princes ; putting, also, upon counsel the 
Lords Bothwell and Huntley, who were traitors, and 
with whom he associated himself; that the lords ban- 
ished in England were that morn to resort to us, and 
would take plain part with them in our controversy, and 
that the King was willing to remit them their offences. 
"We all this time, took no less care of ourselves, than 
for our council and nobility, to wit, the Earls Huntley, 
Bothwell, Athol, Lordk Fleming and Livingston, Sir 
James Balfour, and certain others, our familiar servi- 
tors, against wl^om the enterprise was conspier, as 
well as for David : and, namely, to have hanged Sir 
James ; yet, by the providence of God, the Earls of 
Bothwell and Huntley escaped at a back window by 
some cords; the conspirators took some fear, and 
thought themselves disappointed in their enterprise. 
The Earl of Athol and Sir James Balfour, by some 
other means, with the Lords Fleming and Livingston, 
obtained deliverance. The provost and town of Ed- 
inburgh having understood this tumult in our palace, 
caused to ring their common bell, came to us in great 
number, and desired to have seen our presence, and 
communed with us ; and to have known our welfare ; 
to whom we were not permitted to give answer, being 



MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 135 

extremely boasted by their lords, who in our face 
declared, if we desired to have spoken them, they 
should cut us in collops, and cast us over the walls. 
Our brother, the Earl of "Murray, that same day at 
even, accompanied by the Earl of Eothes, Pitarrow, 
Grange, and others, came to us, and seeing our state, 
was moved with natural affection towards us ; upon 
the morn he assembled the enterprizers of the late 
crime, and such of our rebels as came with him. In 
their council they thought it most expedient that we 
should be warded in our Castle of Stirling, there to 
remain till we had approved, in Parliament, all their 
wicked enterprizes, established their religion, and giv- 
en to the King the crown matrimonial and the whole 
government of our realm, or else by all appearance 
prepared to put us to death, or detain us in perpetual 
captivity." 

When Murray entered Mary's apartment, she em- 
braced him, and weeping, said, " Had you been here, 
I should not have been so treated." He was moved 
to tears, and taking her arm, while Darnley walked 
also in company, she discoursed of her sorrows. Of 
the result of an interview with the apparently repen- 
tant King, she writes : " We declared our state to the 
King, our husband, certifying him how miserably he 
would be handled if he permitted the lords to pre- 
vail ; and how unacceptable it would be to other 
princes, our confederates, in case he altered the reli- 
gion. By this persuasion he was induced to conde- 
scend to the purpose taken by us, and to retire to 
Dunbar. ¥e being minded to have gotten ourselves 



136 MAKY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

relieved of this detention, desired Earls of Bothwell 
and Huntley to have prepared some way whereby we 
might have escaped ; who, not doubting therein at 
least, taking no regard to liazard their lives in that 
behalf, desired that we should have come over the 
walls of our palace in the night, upon chairs, which 
they had in readiness to that effect soon after." 

Thus, Darnley, after having opened the series of 
royal treacheries and scenes of bloodshed, and grasp- 
ed the reins of authority, in his weakness, yielded to 
the grief of the fascinating captive. With mutual 
confessions, Darnley was reconciled, the Queen for- 
giving, and the conspirators abandoned. His next 
move was to effect her escape. He informed his de- 
voted associates that the Queen was attacked with a 
fever, which required a change of air ; at the same 
time expressing her readiness to pardon them for past 
offences. They were suspicious of the design, and 
cautioned Darnley. But he repeated his confidence 
in her honor. She wished them to prepare articles 
of security, which she would sign. Having no better 
alternative, they complied ; and at midnight, March 
11th, Mury Stuart, Darnley, and Arthur Erskine, her 
captain of the guard, fled from Holyrood, and dash- 
ed away on fleet horses to the Castle of Dunbar. It 
was an ominous night ; that Queen, her subdued yet 
haughty husband, and a single guard, flying in the 
stillness and gloom of night from the walls, within 
which stood a vacant throne ! 

Upon her arrival at Dunbar, she issued the sum 
mons to her nobility to meet her arms. The conspire 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 137 

ators had discovered that the articles of safety were 
left without her signature, and dispatched Lord Tem- 
ple to demand a fulfillment of her pledge. He waited 
three days for an answer, during which she had assem- 
bled an army collected by Both well, Huntley, and oth- 
ers. On the 16th she issued a proclamation, denouncing 
the leaders in the late sanguinary transactions, and to 
strengthen her cause, conciliated Murray, Argyle, 
Glencairn and Rothes, on condition of refusing any 
sympathy with the murderers of the secretary. The 
objects of her hate, the hunted rebels, were Morton, 
Ruthven, Lindsay, George Douglas, Andrew Ker of 
Eandonside, and sixty-five other lairds or gentlemen, 
whom she ordered to appear, and answer for their 
crime. She then marched upon the capital, where 
they were. On her approach, they escaped to Eng- 
land, and she once more entered the city of an out- 
rage, which had kindled a glow of vengeance in her 
passionate heart. The Earl of Lennox was forbidden 
to appear at her court ; Lethington was deprived of 
o'ffice ; Joseph Rizzio, brother of David, was appoint- 
ed private secretary ; honors were paid to the dead ; 
and the accessories of the murder, guards of the 
gates, and other subalterns, were condemned to death. 
Her intense fervor of revenge reached some who were 
wholly unconnected with the assassination. Darn- 
ley was compelled to deny any interest in the con- 
spiracy, by a public declaration, in which he speaks 
of the wicked persons who had implicated him in 
" the late cruel murder, committed in presence of the 
Queen's majesty, and treasonable detaining of her 



138 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

majesty's most noble person in captivity." " His 
grace," lie added, " for the removing of the evil opin- 
ion which the good subjects may be induced to con- 
ceive, through such false reports and seditious rumors, 
hath, as well to the Queen's majesty as in the pres- 
ence of the lords of secret council, plainly declared 
upon his honor, fidelity, and the word of a prince, 
that he never knew of any part of the said treasona- 
able conspiracy whereof he is slanderously and falsely 
accused, nor never counseled, commanded, consented, 
assisted, nor approved the same." 

His accomplices were naturally enough fired with 
indignation at his treachery. To have incited them 
to hazard all for the augmenting of his power, and to 
gratify his jealousy, and then betraying them cooly to 
the wrath of the injured sovereign, was treason below 
the ambition of a demon. They turned upon the 
traitor, by transmitting to Mary the bonds which he 
had signed, in contemplation of securing the matri- 
monial crown, and dispatching Rizzio. These cove- 
nants dispelled all doubt on the Queen's mind res- 
pecting the deliberate, premeditated guilt of her hus- 
band, and opened a gulf of impassable alienation and 
disgust between her and himself. She despised him 
as a base conspirator, a coward, and a liar. 

Melvil records in his memoirs : " The Queen la- 
mented unto me the King's folly, ingratitude, and 
misbehavior ; I excused the same the best I could, 
imputing it to his youth, which occasioned him to be 
easily led away by pernicious counsel, laying the 
blame upon George Douglas, and other bad counsel- 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 139 

lors; praying her majesty, for many necessary con- 
siderations, to remove out of her mind any prejudice 
against him, seeing' that she had chosen him herself 
against the opinion of many of her subjects. But I 
could perceive nothing from that day forth but great 
grudges that she entertained in her heart." 

Mary's hatred to Darnley, appeared in gradually ex- 
cluding him from all participation in public affairs, 
and entrusting responsible offices to Earl of Bothwell, 
Huntly, Athol, and the Bishop of Ross ; transferring 
with undissembled designs, his honors and powers to 
her favorites. 

As the time of her confinement approached, the 
Queen, suspicious, because of former plots against 
her, that unexpected advantage might be taken of her 
condition, removed to Stirling Castle — where, while 
a child, she was crowned — to become a mother — a 
responsibility and honor, transcending the diadem of 
royalty. On the 19th of June, 1566, between nine 
and ten o'clock in the morning, was born a son, whose 
brow was destined to wear the united crowns of the 
rival sovereigns. Melvil was immediately dispatched 
to Elizabeth, to announce the event, and request her 
" to act as godmother to the Prince of Scotland." 
The English Queen was in the midst of a magnificent 
ball, which she had given to her court at Greenwich, 
when Cecil, secretary of state, entered the crowded 
and brilliant ball. She was dancing when he whis- 
pered the tidings in her ear. A shade passed, like a 
storm-cloud over the landscape, across her flushed 
and kindling features. The magic whirl suddenly 



140 MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 

ceased, and sinking with a sigh into an arm-chair, 
she said to the ladies near her person, "that the 
Queen of Scots was mother to a fair son, while she 
was but a barren stock." She soon regained her ac- 
customed self-control, and the following day she re- 
ceived Melvil with a smile, expressing joy at the 
advent of a prince, and thanking him for bringing 
her the pleasing intelligence. She also assured him, 
that she " gladly condescended to be a gossip to the 
Queen." 

" She immediately sent Sir Henry Killegrew to con- 
gratulate the Queen of Scotland on her behalf, to 
assure her of her friendship, and to express her appro- 
bation of her conduct towards Rizzio's murderers, 
whom she had nevertheless granted an asylum in her 
dominions." 

Darnley wrote the following letter, upon the birth 
of his son : 

KING HENRY DAENLEY TO MONSIEUR THE CARDINAL DE GUISE. 

" From the Castle of Edinburgh, this 19th day 
of June, 1566, in great haste. . 

" Sir, my uncle : having so favorable an opportunity 
of writing to you by this gentleman, who is on the 
point of setting off, I would not omit to inform you 
that the Queen, my wife, has just been delivered of 
a son, which circumstance, I am sure, will not cause 
you less joy than ourselves ; and also to inform you 
how, on this occasion, I have, on my part, as the Queen 
my said wife, has also on hers, written to the king, 
begging him to be pleased to oblige and honor us by 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 141 

standing sponsor for him, by which means lie will in- 
crease the debt of gratitude I owe him for all his 
favors to me, for which I shall always be ready to 
make every return in my power. 

" So having nothing more agreeable to inform you 
of at present, I conclude, praying God, monsieur, my 
uncle, to have you always in his holy and worthy 
keeping. 

" Your very humble and very obd't nephew, 

" Henry K." 

The message of instructions from Charles IX. of 
France, to his special messenger to the Queen of Scot- 
land, throws light on the passing events : 

INSTEUCTIONS GIVEN TO THE SE. DE MAUVISSIEEE* ON A MISSION 
FEOM THE KING OF FEANCE TO SCOTLAND. 

" The Sr. de Mauvissiere, whom the king is now 
sending to Scotland, will, on passing through Eng- 
land, wait upon the Sr. de la Forest, his ambassador, 
and accompany him, to present to the Queen of the 
aforesaid England the letters which their majesties 
have written to her ; and say that, having sent him 
to Scotland, it is their wish that, in passing through 
the kingdom, he should wait upon her, and present in 
their names, their most affectionate respects, from the 
desire they have not to omit toward her anything that 
mutual friendship demands ; and which their majes- 
ties wish not only to perpetuate, but to augment by 

. *Michael Castelnau Seigneur de Mauvissiere was frequently em- 
ployed in diplomatic missions, and was in 15*75 appointed French 
ambassador in London, which post he held for six years. 



< 



142 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

all the means possible, as well as by every act of kind- 
ness. And, at the same time, the said Sieur de Mau- 
vissiere will assnre the said lady, that the perfect 
friendship the king bears her is so strong and to sin- 
cere, that all the concerns and affairs of the said lady 
interest him as much as his own, and that he ardently 
desires to prove the sincerity of his affection, rather 
by deeds than by words. 

" That the reason for which he is going to Scotland 
is to congratulate, in the name of their majesties, the 
said Queen of the aforesaid Scotland, on her happy 
delivery, and that God has given her a son, which 
news was very agreeable to them, as they also pre- 
sume that it will have given the greatest joy to the 
said lady. 

" That his stay will be so short, that, if it please the 
said lady, to commission him to say anything on her 
part to the Queen of Scotland, he will deliver the 
message faithfully, and bring her an answer in a few 
days. 

"Having performed the above duty to the said 
Queen of England, he will see the Duke (earl) of Lei- 
cester, and say to him that their majesties continuing 
to entertain for him the same good- will they have always 
hitherto done, it is their wish that Sr. de la Forest 
should assist him in every way he can in regard to 
his marriage, and to make such offers as he will repeat, 
of which the duke will judge if they can be useful to 
him, or in any way facilitate and promote the conclu- 
sion of it ; and that, if it be agreeable to him to make 
known his intentions to the said Sr. de la Forest, or 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 143 

the Sieur de Trochmortin, D. Guillerey, or any other 
whom he may think proper, he will find that they 
will proceed more expeditiously than the Sieur de 
Foix, his predecessor ; having been commanded so to 
do by their majesties, who desire that the Sieur de la 
Forest will inform them of this in his own name, and 
contract the closest private familiarity with the said 
Sieur de Trochmortin, Guillerey, or any other whom 
the duke may choose to employ, to procure him in- 
formation, and assist him in the prosecution of his 
undertaking in such manner as the said duke may 
intimate that he has occasion for. That the said Sr. 
de Mauvissiere, on arriving in Scotland, shall first 
visit the Queen of that kingdom, and after delivering 
to her the letters of their majesties and their affec- 
tionate remembrances, he is to congratulate her on 
her happy delivery, and its having pleased God to 
give her a son, assuring her their majesties received 
the news with the greatest joy, and will be still hap- 
pier to learn that the mother and infant are as well as 
can be desired. 

" Besides he has letters to the lung, her husband, 
to express the like congratulation to him, but also 
with the express command not to do anything in this 
matter but what the said lady should think fit, and to 
use such language to him as she may deem proper 
and order. 

"That he has also letters of introduction to different 
gentlemen of that country ; that if the said lady con- 
siders it serviceable to her that he should hold any 
language to them on the part of their majesties 3 he 



144: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

must do so ; being, when all is said, expressly com- 
manded to clo nothing but by her advice, and conduct 
himself, in all respects, as may be for the interest of 
her affairs, according as she may direct him. 

" And if, inasmuch as the said Sieur de Mauvis- 
siere says he thinks the said Queen of Scotland will 
ask what assurance he brings her of the assistance she 
is to expect from the king in her affairs, in men or 
money, if the said lady should speak to him on this 
subject, he is to reply as follows : 

" That monsieur the Cardinal of Lorraine, having 
acquainted their majesties that the said lady had need 
of money, and seeing that, from the state of his finan- 
ces, he could not spare any of his own, had begged 
their majesties to furnish him with the sixty thousand 
livres which were due of his pension, and which their 
said majesties would have done most willingly ; but 
there not being sufficient ready money in the hands 
of the treasurer to furnish him with the said sum, 
the said treasurer had rendered himself responsible 
in his own private name toward those from whom the 
said sieur the cardinal should obtain the said sum, 
which their majesties think that he would not fail to 
remit to the said lady, knowing she had need of it. 
And the said lady must not doubt, that if his majesty 
had had as much money at his command as good-will 
to assist the said lady, she would always find his purse 
open and at her service. 

" As to sending succors in men, their majesties have 
been informed from various sources, that the affairs 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 145 

of lier kingdom are at present in such a state of peace 
and tranquillity as not to require it, and that she, to 
whom God had given so fine and promising an heir, 
is so much revered and obeyed, that they think her 
most important object will be to reconcile her sub- 
jects to each other, if there yet remains any enmity 
among them on account of the past, and to preserve 
peace and tranquillity in her dominions ; and for this 
reason they have not thought it necessary to give any 
instructions on this head to the Sieur de Mauvissiere, 
that on his return he may be able to report the same 
to their said majesties, who will always do, in favor 
and for the assistance of the said lady, whatever she 
can promise herself and expect from princes, who are 
her best and most sincere friends in this world. 

" His majesty is much gratified by the favor which 
the said lady has done him, by having chosen him as 
one of the sponsors ; and, being desirous of gratify- 
ing and obliging her to the utmost of his power, begs 
her to inform him which of the princes of his king- 
dom or other seigneurs will be most agreeable to her 
to hold her son at the holy font of baptism in his 
name ; as the one whom she may name and select, 
his majesty will immediately dispatch on receiving 
from her this information." 

Mary looked upon her first born with more than 
maternal affection; ambitious hopes gave a glow of 
intense interest to her pale and beautiful face. The 
subjection of foes, aud the right of succession in Eng- 
land, were associated with the earliest glance of the 
G 10 



146 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

infant's wandering eye. She little thought that her 
idol would cost her a throne, and as a result, tears 
numberless as the drops of morning dew. 

The education of the prince was a question of im- 
mediate concern. The Protestant leaders assembled 
in the High Church to offer public thanksgiving for 
the Queen's safety, and resolved to urge that her 
son should be nurtured in the evangelical faith. 

"For this purpose a congratulatory deputation from 
the General Assembly, headed by the superintendent 
of Lothian, communicated to the Queen the prayers 
of her subjects, that she would be graciously pleased 
to allow their prince to be reared in the true faith. 
Unfortunately for Mary, she discovered not how 
much it imported, even to her personal safety, to ac- 
quiesce in this demand; — more unfortunately still, 
she allowed herself to believe, that both in Scotland 
and England, the ancient worship was ultimately to be 
restored. In each country the number of Catholics 
had lately increased, and she well knew that in France, 
Spain, and Italy, a league existed for the extirpation 
of heretical principles. "With these internal convic- 
tions, Mary scrupulously abstained from a promise, 
not only revolting to her conscience, but incompatible 
with her foreign engagements ; unwilling, however, 
at such a moment, to cause displeasure to her sub- 
jects, she ordered the infant prince to be presented to 
the deputies, and with her wonted grace, placed him 
in the arms of the superintendent. Charmed with 
this affability, the minister uttered a prayer for thQ 
babe's future honor and prosperity, and, at the con- 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 147 

elusion, extorted from the child a certain responsive 
murmur, to signify that he pronounced, Amen. Mary, 
now in her turn delighted, with genuine expressions 
of maternal fondness, thanked the minister, sportively 
calling him good Mr. Amen, an appellation by which 
he was ever after distinguished." 

The exciting question of the succession was again 
revived, according to Mary's orders, by Melvil, who 
addressed Elizabeth on the subject. The Queen of 
Scotland effected a union between Murray, Argyle, 
and Lethington, to secure the influence of the Protest- 
ant party in England; while the same policy brought 
together Bothwell, Huntly, Athol, and the Bishop of 
Eoss, to control the Catholic power, in the attain- 
ment of her cherished and growing aspirations. In 
the midst of those reconciliations and favorable nego- 
tiations with the lairds, who led the Presbyterian 
body, the radical Catholics interposed, by a foolish 
claim of Elizabeth's sceptre in Mary's behalf. 

Patrick Adamson, a Scotchman, published in Paris 
a Latin work, in which she was called Queen of Eng- 
land, and her son, " Prince of Scotland, England and 
Ireland." This fully aroused Elizabeth. Parliament, 
which had been debating the transmission of the 
crown for several days, she summoned before her, 
and with a stern rebuke, unfolded the dangers of ap- 
pointing a successor before hand, with these words : 
" I am your natural Queen, and although you show 
yourselves so adverse to my will in this affair, I will 
not consent to its being carried farther." The lower 
house still persisted in the discussion, until Elizabeth 



14:8 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

commanded peremptorily, a cessation of further con- 
sideration of the unpleasant and hopeless question. 
Referring angrily to Adamson's volume, in a mes- 
sage to Mary, she said : " You know, madam, that 
there is nothing in the world which so much concerns 
my honor as that there should be no other Queen of 
England but myself." 

This unsettled condition of rival claims continued, 
while Mary entered on a more dangerous experiment. 
James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell, was a daring, 
impetuous, and dangerous man. The owner of large 
estates — by marriage he had united one of the most 
influential families of the South, with the most pow- 
erful family in the North of Scotland. Lady Jane 
Gordon had been his bride but a few months, when, 
during the summer of 1566, Mary Stuart cherished a 
fatal passion for the earl. Unblushing in his vices, 
and fearless in his wildest schemes, his heroism and 
bold ambition won the admiration of Mary, who felt 
burdened by the presence of the weak and unreliable 
Darnley. Bothwell aimed to secure her affection and 
share her sovereignty. He was chivalrous, though 
neither handsome nor truly refined ; and to an ardent 
woman, his dashing independence and extravagant 
devotion, were qualities that obscured the vices of 
dissipation, and unscrupulous plans of personal eleva- 
tion. The Queen, before she was aware, was an un- 
resisting victim of his fascinating power. His influ- 
ence over her, and in the court, alarmed the youthful 
King, and he began to look for a protecting party. 
He sought to enlist the Catholic church, and wrote 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 149 

the Pope, charging the Queen with indifference to 
the progress of the ancient faith. In an excursion to 
Alloa, on the banks of the Forth, it is recorded, that 
upon, the restoration to Mary's favor of the Laird 
of Lethington, on that occasion, Darnley, who hated 
him, in a passion left the party and hastened to Edin- 
burgh. Mary soon followed to meet Mauvissiere, 
who had arrived from France with the congratulatory 
message from Charles IX. The ambassador acted as 
mediator, and apparently succeeded in making a re- 
conciliation between the alienated parties. For sev- 
eral weeks civility and tranquillity marked their 
intercourse. Darnley accompanied the Queen and 
ladies of the palace, in a tour to the Western High- 
lands, but before the royal expedition closed, he be- 
came more irritable and insulting than at any former 
period. Mary's female companions did not escape 
the ebullitions of his anger. He finally withdrew to 
a private house, and refused decidedly to attend Mary 
to the capital. In his melancholy musings he resolved 
to abandon his cauntry, and wander, self-exiled, a des- 
olate and neglected being, who could publish, with 
the sympathy of all, the story of his wrongs. This 
was revenge that he knew would wound the Queen 
deeply ; her pride and sensibility would be keenly 
stung. A ship was ready to convey him to France, 
when his father visited him, and wrote immediately 
to Mary Stuart at Edinburgh, to communicate her 
husband's intention, and his own inability to change 
the King's purpose. 
The same day that she recived the letter of the Earl 



150 MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

of Lennox, awakening the apprehension that Darn- 
ley had already sailed from Scotland, he arrived at 
Holyrood. His vacillating natnre had dismissed the 
desperate design of a departure, for the endeavor to 
renew confidence and harmony with Mary. She at 
once assembled her council, invited the French am- 
bassador, De Croc, to be present, while an explana- 
tion was demanded of the King, of his strange plans. 
Darnley was taken by surprise, for, instead of an 
amicable settlement of difficulties, he was brought to 
the tribunal of accusation and inquiry. To the ques- 
tioning of the lords he was silent. De Croc assured 
him his projected voyage and absence involved the 
Queen's honor and his own, and urged him to give 
his reasons for so dangerous a resolve. He at length 
replied, that Mary had given him no occasion ; which 
was all that she desired. Whether he remained in 
the realm or not, she, before competent witnesses, 
was acquitted by his own confession. She therefore 
said, " she was satisfied" The following passages 
are quoted from a letter of the council to the queen- 
mother of France, supposed to be from the pen of 
Maitland, which detail the interview with Darnley : 

" About ten or twelve days ago, the Queen, at our 
request, came to this town of Lisleburg (Edinburgh.) 
Her majesty was desirous the King should have come 
with her, but because he liked to remain at Stirling, 
and wait her return thither, she left him there, with 
an intention to go towards him in five or six days ; 
meantime, whilst the Queen was absent, the Earl of 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 151 

Lennox, Iris father, came to visit him in Stirling, and 
having remained with him two or three days, he went 
his way to Glasgow, the ordinary place of his abode ; 
from Glasgow my Lord of Lennox wrote to the 
Queen, and acquainted her Majesty, that though for- 
merly, both by letters and messages, and now also by 
communication with his son, he endeavored to divert 
him from an enterprise he had in view, he neverthe- 
less had not the interest to alter his mind. This pro- 
ject he tells the Queen, was to retire out of the king- 
dom beyond sea, and for this purpose he had a ship 
lying ready. The Earl of Lennox's letter came to 
the Queen's hands on Michaelmas-day, and her ma- 
jesty was pleased to impart the same to the lords of 
her council ; and if her majesty was surprised by this 
advertisement, these lords were no less astonished to 
understand that the King, who may justly esteem 
himself happy, upon account of the honor conferred 
upon him, and whose chief aim should be to render 
himself grateful to her country, should entertain any 
thoughts of departing after so strange a manner, out 
of her presence ; nor was it possible for them to form 
a conjecture from whence such an imagination should 
take its rise. Their lordships, therefore, took a reso- 
lution to talk with the King, that they might learn 
from himself the occasion of this hasty deliberation. 
The same evening the King came to Edinburgh, but 
made some difficulty to enter into the palace, by rea- 
son that three or four lords * were at that time pre- 

* The Earls Murray, Rothes and G-lencairn. 



152 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

sent with the Queen, and peremptorily insisted that 
they might be gone before he would condescend to 
come in ; which deportment appeared to be abundant- 
ly unreasonable, since they were three of the great- 
est lords in the kingdom, and that those kings who 
by birth were sovereigns of the realm, have never 
acted in that manner towards the nobility. The 
Queen, however, received this behavior as decently 
as was possible ; and condescended so far as to meet 
the King without the palace, and so conducted him 
into her own apartments ; and there he remained all 
night, and then her majesty entered calmly with him 
on the subject of his going abroad, that she might 
understand from himself the occasion of such a reso- 
lution ; but he would by no means give or acknowl- 
edge that he had any occasion offered him of discon- 
tent. The lords of council being acquainted, early 
next morning, that the King was going to return to 
Stirling, they repaired to the Queen's apartment, and 
no other person being present, except Monsieur de 
Croc, whom they prayed to assist with them, as being 
here on the part of her majesty, the occasion of 
their being together here was then, with all humility 
and reverence due to .their majesties, proposed, name- 
ly, to understand from the King, whether, according 
to advice imparted to the Queen, by the Earl of Len- 
nox, he had formed a resolution to de]3art by sea out 
of the realm, and upon what ground, and for what 
end ? That if his resolution proceeded from discon- 
tent, they were earnest to know what persons had 
afforded an occasion for the same. That if he could 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 153 

complain of any of the subjects of the realm, be they of 
what quality soever, the fault should immediately be 
repaired to his satisfaction. And now we did remon- 
strate with him, that his own honor, and the Queen's 
honor, the honor of us all, was concerned ; for if with- 
out just occasion, he would retire from the palace, and 
abandon the society of her to whom he is so far obliged, 
that in order to advance him, she humbled herself, 
and, from being his. sovereign, surrendered herself to 
be his wife ; if he should act in this sort, the whole 
world would blame him, as ingrate and utterly un- 
worthy to possess the place to which she had exalted 
him. On the other hand, if any just occasion had 
been given him, it behooved to be very important, 
since it inclined him to relinquish so beautiful a Queen, 
and noble realm ; and the same must have been afford- 
ed either by the Queen herself, or us, her ministers. 
As for us, we professed ourselves ready to do him all 
the justice he could demand. Then her majesty was 
pleased to enter^into the discourse, and spoke affec- 
tionately to him, beseeching him that since he would 
not open his mind to her in private, according to her 
most earnest request, he would declare before these 
lords, where she had offended him, in anything. She 
likewise said, that she had a clear conscience ; that in 
all her life she had never done anything that could 
prejudice his or her honor; but, nevertheless, as she 
might have given him offence without design, she 
was willing to make amends as far as he should re- 
quire ; therefore, prayed him not to dissemble. 
" But though the Queen and all others, with Mon- 

G* 



154 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

sieur cle Croc, used all the interest they were able, he 
would not own that he had intended any voyage, and 
declared freely, that the Queen had given him no 
occasion of complaint. Whereupon he took leave of 
her majesty, and went his way, so that we were all of 
opinion this was but a false alarm the Earl of Len- 
nox was willing to give. her majesty ; nevertheless, by 
a letter, which the king has since wrote to the Queen 
in a sort of disguised style, it appears that he still has 
it in his head to leave the kingdom ; and there is an 
advertisement otherwise, that he is secretly proposing 
to be gone. 

" 'Tis true, that in the letter he grounds a complaint 
on two points ; one is, that her majesty trusts him 
not with so much authority, nor is at such pains to 
advance him, and make him honored, as she first did ; 
and the other point is, that no body attends him, and 
that the nobility desert his company. To these the 
Queen has made answer, that if the case he so, he 
ought to blame himself, and not her / for, that in the 
beginning, she had conferred so much honor upon 
him, as came afterwards to render herself uneasy — 
the credit and reputation wherein she had placed him, 
having served as a shadow to those who have most 
heinously offended her reputation. But notwithstand- 
ing tins, she has continued to show him such respect, 
that although they who did jDerpetrate the murder of 
her faithful servant, had entered her chamber with 
his knowledge, having followed close, and had named 
him the chief of their enterprise ; yet would she never 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 155 

accuse^ but did always excuse him, and was willing to 
appear as though she believed it not. And then as 
to his not being attended, the fault thereof must be 
charged upon himself, since she has always made an 
offer to him of her own servants ; and as for the nobili- 
ty, they come to court and pay deference and respect, 
according as they have any matters to do, and as they 
receive a kindly countenance ; but that he is at no 
pains to gain them, and make himself beloved, hav- 
ing gone so far as to prohibit those noblemen from 
entering his room, whom she had first appointed to be 
about his person. If the nobility abandon him, his 
own deportment towards them is the cause thereof; 
for if he desires to be followed and attended, he must, 
in the first place, gain their love, and for this purpose 
render himself amiable to them, without which, it 
would be difficult for her majesty to regulate this 
point — especially to make the nobility consent, that 
he shall have the management of affairs put into his 
hands, because she finds them utterly averse to any 
such matter." 

When Darnley rose to leave the council, he said to 
the Queen, " Adieu ! madam. You shall not see my 
face for a long space." Turning to the lords, he ad- 
ded, " Gentlemen, adieu ! " At that moment the dis- 
tance between him and Mary was wider, and more 
sharply defined, than when he reached Edinburgh. 
He continued preparations for leaving the kingdom, 
but subsequently abandoned them, to his own and 
the Queen's misfortune. 



156 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

Instead of opposing any farther the King's deter- 
mination, Mary Stuart, without inviting him to join 
the party, made a tour to the south-eastern frontier, 
to quell the insubordination of the Johnsons, Arm- 
strongs and Elliots, who, like mountain-panthers, were 
fiercely warring with each other. October 6th, 1566, 
the Earl of Bothwell, by the Queen's commission, as 
lord lieutenant, had repaired to the scene of conflict. 
Two days after, the Queen reached Jedburg to hold 
her "justice aire, " * or assizes, and sustain with royal 
justice and presence the military force. On the day 
of her arrival, Bothwell, in a personal combat with 
John Elliot of Park, was dangerously wounded, and 
immediately removed to the Castle of Hermitage, not 
far from the marches, were he encountered the bor- 
derers. When Mary heard of the Earl's peril, she 
" was so highly grieved in heart, that she took no re- 
pose in body until she saw him ! " f With the restless- 
ness of impatient love, she remained at Jedburg offi- 
cially until the 15th of October, when she took a 
dashing steed and flew to the Hermitage, attended 
by Murray and other nobles. She found the favorite 
chieftain pale and languishing, and feared a fatal issue. 
Deeply grieving, she yielded to the urgency of affairs, 
and with marvelous fleetness returned the same day 
to Jedburg ; making the whole distance traveled on 

* "Justice aires were liolden annually in the provinces for the 
administration of justice. Many flagrant enormities having been 
committed in Liddisdale, it was deemed necessary that the Queen 
should assist in person, in the manner of her predecessors." 

f Crawford. 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 157 

horseback about forty miles. But refusing rest, she 
employed the time after reaching her apartments, 
" till the noon of night," writing to Bothwell, whom 
she had so recently left. The following morning pros- 
trating disease crimsoned her cheek, and falling into 
a swoon, she lay at the gate of death for several hours. 
When this insensibility passed, the fair sufferer was 
in the embrace of a burning fever. Reason was de- 
throned, and it seemed to all that life's golden bowl 
would soon be broken. "With returning conscious- 
ness, Mary thought also that her departure was near. 
Be questing the nobles to offer prayer in her behalf, 
she confided her son to Elizabeth, and sent a messen- 
ger to apprise Darnley of her danger. 

The tidings of Mary's illness, spread over the plains 
and highlands of Scotland. Prominent members 
of the nobility hastened to Jedburg. Meanwhile, 
Bothwell, convalescent, with knightly ardor sought 
her presence. He was member of the privy coun- 
cil, and would have doubtless been there, if for no 
other reason. But the entire affair, from the combat 
with the freebooter, had worn the romance of con- 
cealed passion. 

Darnley arrived the 28th of October, and finding 
Mary already favorably past the crisis of her malady, 
he tarried only a night, and repaired again to Glas- 
gow. A visit to a wife and Queen on the couch of 
pain, so brief and coldly formal, deepened the bitter- 
ness of her enmity, and stimulated her devotion to 
the courtly earl. The recovery to comparative health 
was slow. ^November 8th, she journeyed with care- 



158 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

ful conveyance and frequent rest, to Kelso, and along 
the coast to Craigmillar Castle, where she took apart- 
ments on the 20th ; a distance of three miles from 
Edinburgh. Melancholy and spectral from sorrows 
and disease, she appeared yet on the confines of eter- 
nity. De Croc Wrote to the Archbishop of Glasgow : 
" The Queen is not well. I do believe the principal 
part of her disease to consist of a deep grief and sor- 
row. ]STor does it seem possible to make her forget 
the same. Still she repeats the words, ' I could wish 
to be dead.' " Said the observing Lethington : " It is 
an heart-break for her to think that he should be her 
husband, and how to be free of him she sees no out- 
let." This dismal complaining awakened in the minds 
of those around her, various plans for the relief of 
the Queen. Morton, Kuthven and Lindsay, who were 
connected with her counselors, by ties of relation- 
ship or friendship, having shed the blood of Rizzio, 
were ready for further dark conspiracies. Lethington 
arranged a plan with shrewd calculation, and daring 
disregard of tragical results. He proposed, the return 
of the exiled murderers, on conditions of a divorce from 
Darnley, and if necessary, his assassination. Both- 
well seized the suggestion enthusiastically, and Ar- 
gyle and Huntley assented. Murray was anxious to 
have his sister secure a divorce, as the only deliver- 
ance from greater evils. When the scheme was 
broached to Mary Stuart, she answered, " That on 
two conditions she might agree to the proposal : The 
first, that the divorce should be made lawfully, and 
that it should not prejudice her son ; otherwise, she 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 159 

would rather endure all torments, and abide the per- 
ils that might ensue." 

The Earl of Bothwell answered, "The divorce 
might be made without prejudice to the prince, since 
he himself had succeeded to his father's title and 
estate ; although he had been divorced from his 
mother." 

It was also suggested that after the divorce, the 
King should remain in one part of the country, the 
Queen in another, or that he should withdra\y to a for- 
eign land. 

The Queen here said, " That perhaps he would 
change his opinion, and that it was better that she 
herself for a time passed into France." 

Then Lethington rejoined, "Think ye not that we, 
who are of the chief of your nobility and council, 
shall find means that you be quit of him without 
prejudice to your son ? and although my Lord of 
Murray be no less scrupulous for a Protestant than 
your grace for a Papist, I am sure he will look 
through his fingers thereto, and will behold our do- 
ings." 

The Queen here answered decidedly, " I will that 
ye do nothing to spot my honor or conscience ; and 
therefore I pray you let -the matter rest, till God of 
his goodness find the remedy."* 

Lethington closes the conference by remarking, 
" Madam, let us guide the business among us, and 
your grace shall see nothing but good, and approved 

* Extracted from the declaration of the Earls Huntley and Ar- 
gyle. See Appendix to Keith ; Anderson's Collections. 



160 MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

by Parliament." This interview was immediately 
followed by an act which was the shadow of fearful 
events. The lords entered into a bond and - solemn 
oath, " to cnt off the King as a young fool and tyrant, 
who was an enemy to the nobility, and had conducted 
himself in an intolerable manner to the Queen." 
Pledging to each other fidelity unto death, in this de- 
fence of the state, the covenant was signed by Sir 
James Balfour, the writer, and a partizan of Both well, 
Huntley? Lethington and Argyle, and committed to 
the care of Bothwell. A few weeks later, the royal 
christening occurred at Stirling Castle. Mary was 
educated amid pomp, of which she was fond, and 
preparations for the festival had been made on a 
magnificent scale. 

The Pope's nuncio was invited to attend, but 
upon more prudent advice, Mary prevented his 
appearance on dangerous ground. Elizabeth ap- 
pointed the Countess of Argyle to represent her as 
god-mother, and dispatched Bedford with a font of 
gold, valued at five thousand dollars, to be used at the 
ceremony. Darnley was not present, though in the 
Castle. In the conscious degradation, and in anger, 
he shut himself in his room till the imposing service 
was concluded. Bothwell was master of ceremonies, 
though a Protestant: and but two of the nobles had 
been adherents of Rome. Mary shone in jewels, il- 
lustrating what is oftener true than known, that be- 
neath a golden vestment and robe may beat an anxious 
heart, and under a crown, throb a troubled brain. 
Such is God's eternal law of correspondence between 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 161 

a man's real condition and his character. The French 
ambassador, De Croc, wrote a letter descriptive of 
the baptismal scene, and the incidents which occur- 
red: 

"December 23d. 
"The christening of the prince was solemnized on 
Tuesday last, when he received the name of Charles 
James ; it was the Queen's pleasure that he should 
bear the name of James, together with Charles, after 
the King of France, because, said she, all the good 
Kings of Scotland, his predecessors, who have been 
most devoted to the crown of France, were called by 
the name of James. Everything was performed ac- 
cording to the holy Catholic church. The King, 
Lord Darnley, had still given out that he should de- 
part two clays before the christening : but when the 
time approached, he gave no sign of removal ; only, 
he still kept close within his own apartment. The very 
day of the ceremony, he sent three times, desiring me 
either to come and see him, or to appoint the hour 
when he might come to my lodgings ; so that I found 
myself obliged to signify to him, that since he was on 
no good terms with the Queen, I had been charged 
by the most Christian king, to have no communica- 
tion with him. And I caused him also to be told, 
that as it would not be proper for him to come to my 
lodgings, where there was a crowd of company ; as he 
might understand that there were two passages in it, 
and that if he entered by one door, I should be con- 
strained to go out by the other ; nor can any good be 
expected from him. I cannot pretend to foretell how 

11 



162 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

all may terminate, but this I will say, that matteia 
cannot long remain as they are, without producing 
bad consequences." 

Mary, upon the renewed entreaty of Lethington 
and Bothwell, restored Morton, Kuthven, Lindsay, 
and seventy-six more of the refugees. Elizabeth, in 
private correspondence, had advised the Queen to do 
so, and also to treat Darnley with kindness. But the 
King, alarmed at the return of his own instruments 
of vengeance, hastily abandoned the court, and took 
up his residence in Glasgow, at his father's house. 
The small pox was prevailing, and he became its 
victim. 

JSTotwithstanding, the plot against his life went stea- 
dily forward. Bothwell, who was the soul of the con- 
spiracy, continued to gain confederates. Morton 
returned to Scotland the fore part of January, 1567. 
The earl made an unwearied effort to enlist his power- 
ful co-operation, but he refused, though assured that the 
Queen approved the measure, unless he could see hei 
signature of sanction. This he attempted to obtain, and 
failed. Whether Mary had withheld all connivance 
from her admirer, or was governed by prudence only, 
cannot be certainly known. It was rumored at this 
time, that the King had determined to seize the per- 
son of his son James, have him crowned, and hold 
in the name of the prince the sceptre of the realm. 
Mary was sufficiently disturbed to remove James to 
Edinburgh, that no surprise might give reality to her 
fears. Darnley was recovering from sickness, but 
powerless as infancy. 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 163 

The Queen accused him of the absurd design, and 
expressed her feelings in a communication to the 
Archbishop of Glasgow : 

" For the King, our husband, God knows always 
our part towards him, and his behavior and thankful- 
ness to us is semblament well known to God and the 
world — especially our own subjects see it— and in 
their hearts, we doubt not, condemn the same,— al- 
ways we perceive him occupied, busily enough, to 
have inquisition, of our doings, which, God willing, 
shall always be such as none shall have occasion to 
be offended with, or to report of us any ways but hon- 
orably. Howsoever he, his father, and their follow- 
ers speak, who we know want no good will to make 
us ado, if their power were equivalent to their mind ; 
but God moderates their forces well enough, and takes 
means of the execution of their pretences from them, 
for as we believe they shall find none or very few ap- 
provers of their councils and devices, imagined to 
our displeasure or disliking ; and thus commit you to 
the protection of God. 

" Your right good mistress, 

"Mary. 
" At Edinburgh, the 20th Jan. 1560." 

Soon after this letter was written, Mary left the 
capital for Glasgow. She found Darnley still an in- 
valid, and greatly amazed at her visit, because he 
had heard of her suspicions, and caught faint tokens 
of an impending bolt. He told her all, expressing 



164 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

his sad apprehensions, although he knew she had re- 
fused to sign a paper authorizing his seizure, and if 
he resisted, his murder. 

" He added that he would never think that she, 
who was his own proper flesh, would do him any 
hurt : and then, with more vanity than confidence, 
he declared that if any others should intend to injure 
him, he would sell his life dear, unless they took him 
sleeping. Mary in her turn reminded him of his in- 
tention to retire to the Continent, and of the project 
attributed to him by Hiegate and TValcar.* He af- 
firmed that he had never been serious in his threats 
of departure, and denied the second charge with ve- 
hemence." Mary, at length, with her gentle persua- 
sion, tearful and lustrous blue eyes, subduing re- 
proaches, and expressions of affection, won the confi- 
dence of the vacillating, miserable phantom of royalty. 
He had always loved her, and his alienation was that 
of wounded pride, and undisguised contempt from the 
object of love and ambition. His confessions were 
full, and promises for the future satisfactory. 

He begged her to leave him no more. Mary then 
wished him to go to Craigmillar soon as able to travel 
on a litter'; he consented, if she would receive him 
cordially to her heart, as her true husband. To this 
she assented, and gave him her hand, suggesting a 
delay till cured of his sickness, and desired him to 
keep the reconciliation a secret, to avoid giving of- 
fence to the nobles. The mind pauses over this scene, 

* The reported plan of securing the coronation of the prince, and 
ruling as regent. 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 165 

bewildered and sad. To believe Mary entirely sin- 
cere in so great and sudden a transition of manner, is 
an amplitude of charitable credulity it would be 
pleasant to award. To doubt lier truthfulness, is to 
people the obscurity of a woman's heart with more 
demoniac inmates, than the deepest depravity in time 
would seem to warrant. By whatever reasons, en- 
forced by a false training, she hushed the upbraidings 
of conscience, the conclusion of perfidy is inevitable. 
She was impetuous in feeling, and gave herself to a fa- 
vorite obj ect with almost insane ardor. Bothwell mani- 
festly ruled the Queen, and she stooped to his lawless 
designs. He had transferred Nicolas Hubert, his ser- 
vant, more familiarly called Paris, from the city of his 
nativity, to her service. He was in the conspiracy 
of his former master, and was with the Queen during 
her visit to Glasgow. Paris, only two days after Ma- 
ry's arrival, was the bearer of a letter to Bothwell, 
containing evidences of attachment to the earl, and 
comments on the interview with Darnley,in these re- 
markable words : 

" I have never seen him better, or speak so humbly, 
and if 1 had not known from experience that his 
heart is as soft as wax, and mine as hard as diamond, 
I should almost have taken pity on him. However, 
fear nothing. You constrain me so to dissimulate, 
that I am horrified, seeing that you do not merely 
force me to play the part of a traitress ; I pray you 
remember that, if desire to please you did not force 
me, I would rather die than commit these things ; for 
my heart bleeds to do them. In brief, he will not 



l6Q MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

come with me, unless upon this condition, that I shall 
promise to use in common with him a single table, 
and the same bed as before, and that I shall not leave 
him so often, and that if I will do this, he will do all 
I wish, and will follow me." Carried away by the 
violence of her love, she told Both well that she would 
obey him in all things ; and begged him not to con- 
ceive a bad opinion of her ; " because," she continued, 
" you yourself are the occasion of it ; I would never 
act against him, to gratify my own private revenge." 

In her wild impulses, she laid on the altar of sacri- 
fice to Bothwell's ambition, her honor, principle, and 
conscience — a mournful example of frailty and guilt, 
upon the summit of human greatness. Paris con- 
veyed the message, with a purse of gold, and bracelets 
which Mary had made for Bothwell. The faithful 
servant was directed to inquire where Darnley should 
be lodged, in the Kirk of Field or at Craigmillar. 
It was deemed improper to take the King to the pal- 
ace, on account of his malady. It was decided by 
Bothwell and Lethington to give the invalid apart- 
ments in the Kirk of Field, which was " a large, open 
space near an old Dominican convent of Blackfriars." 

In the pleasant area were gardens and houses, 
the residences of the Duke of Chatellerault, Robert 
Balfour, a relative of Sir James, who drew the mur- 
derous bond, and others. The house of Balfour was 
selected, because, though less spacious, it was more 
secluded than any other dwelling. Paris saw Both- 
well and James Balfour in consultation, who gave to 
the servant this brief and significant direction : " Re- 



MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 167 

turn to the Queen, and recommend me very humbly 
to her grace, and tell her all will go well, for Mr. 
James Balfour and I have not slept the whole night, so 
we have set all things in order, and have got ready 
the house. And tell the Queen that I send to her this 
diamond by your hands, and that if I had my heart, 
I would send it to her very willingly." It was not 
long before poor Darnley was moving slowly towards 
the. place of doom, and lavishing caresses on the 
Queen, who wrote to Bothwell, " according to the 
commission which I have received, I shall bring the 
man with me Monday." 

Darnley consented to the arrangement for the Kirk 
of Field. But his mind was distressed with the ap- 
prehension of treachery. He said to Crawford, " I 
have fears enough, but may God judge between us. 
I have her promise only to trust to, but I have put 
myself in her hands, and shall go with her, though 
she should murder me." Bothwell met Mary and the 
King just before they reached Edinburgh; and on the 
31st of January, the invalid, trembling with dread 
presentiments, entered the apartment from which he 
would not depart alive. The house was small and 
poorly furnished. It was of two stories, the lower 
containing a cellar, and a single room besides ; the 
upper story was divided into a gallery over the cel- 
lar, and a bed-chamber corresponding to the room be- 
neath. " Nelson, Darnley's servant, when he arrived 
at Kirk of Field, was about to prepare the Duke of 
Chatellerault's house for the reception of his master. 
But the Queen prevented him, and directed him to 



168 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

Balfour's house, whither the necessary furniture was 
conveyed, and which Bothwell had evidently chosen, 
that he might carry out his murderous intentions with 
greater facility. Darnley was established on the first 
floor, where his three servants, Taylor, Nelson, and 
Edward Simons, occupied the gallery, which served 
at once as a wardrobe and cabinet. The cellar on the 
ground floor was transformed into a kitchen, and the 
Queen had a bed prepared for herself in the room 
immediately below that in which the King slept. She 
also directed that the door at the foot of the staircase, 
which communicated between the ground-floor and 
the upper rooms, should be removed. Thus installed, 
though very uncomfortably, by Darnley's side, she 
passed several nights under the same roof with him. 
Her assiduity, her attention, and the manifold proofs 
which she gave him of her affection, were all well 
calculated to dispel his fears." 

Meanwhile, the Earl of Bothwell was busy with 
his remorseless imaginings, whose unfinished plan 
was the murder of the object between him and a 
throne. lie had enlisted, to act subordinate parts, his 
chamberlain, tailor, porter, and others, whose metal 
he had tested in frontier conflicts. False keys were 
prepared, and a barrel of gunpowder procured by Both- 
well Paris tried the keys, to be sure of their simi- 
larity, but when his old master unfolded the whole 
plan of assassination, he hesitated, fearing his own de- 
struction might be the result. And according to 
subsequent confession of the Frenchman, the follow- 
ing conversation occurred : 



MART QUEEN" 0E SCOTS- 160 

" On hearing him my heart grew faint ; 1 did not 
say a word, but cast down my eyes . " Bothwell, who 
was not pleased at his silence and consternation, 
looked at him with impatience, and asked him what 
he thought of the plan. " Sir, I think that what you 
tell me is a great thing." " "What is your opinion of 
it ? " reiterated Bothwell. " Pardon me, sir, if I tell 
you my opinion according to my poor mind." 
"What! are you going to preach to me?" "No, 
sir, you shall hear presently." " Well ! say on." 
Paris then reminded him of the trouble and misfor- 
tunes of his past life, and sought to dissuade him from 
this murder, which would destroy his present tran- 
quillity, and endanger the extraordinary favor which 
he had attained. He concluded by telling him: 
" Now, sir, if you undertake this thing, it will be the 
greatest trouble you ever had, above all others you 
have endured, for every one will cry out upon you, 
and you will be destroyed." " Well," said Bothwell, 
" have you done ? " " You will pardon me, sir, if you 
please, if I have spoken to you according to my poor 
mind." " Pool that you are ! " said Bothwell, " do 
you think that I am doing this all alone by myself? " 
" Sir, I do not know how you are going to do it, but 
I know well that it will be the greatest trouble you 
ever had." " And how so ? " said Bothwell ; " I have 
already with me Lethington, who is esteemed one of 
the most prudent men in this country, and who is the 
undertaker of all this ; and I have also the Earl of 
Argyle, my brother Huntley, Morton, Kuthven, and 
Lindsay. These three last will never fail me, for I 



H 



170 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

have begged for their pardon, and I have the signa- 
tures of all these I have mentioned to you. We were 
desirous to do it the last time we were at Craigmillar ; 
but you are a fool and poor of mind, unworthy to 
hear anything of consequence." 

. Paris finally consented to Bothwell's satanic propo- 
sals, it may be with less pause than he affirms. He 
promised to introduce Hay of Tallo, Hepburn, and 
Ormisfcn, into Mary's chamber, on the evening ap- 
pointed for the deed, while she was with Darnley, 
that they might deposit the powder there. Paris was 
ordered not to place the Queen's bed under the King, 
because the explosion must be where it stood.. This 
was neglected, and he affirms that Mary, coming in, 
directed the change to be made. The night of Sun- 
d \j, February 9th, was the time designated for the 
t< rrible experiment. Paris says, the Queen then 
s" bstituted worn drapery for the new velvet in Darn- 
I. fs chamber ; and Nelson, Bothwell's servant, tes- 
1 led, that she removed a rich coverlet of fur from 
her own apartment. 

Sabbath evening she was with Darnley, convers- 
ing familiarly, while the enginery of death was in 
preparation below. Toward sunset of the holy day, 
Bothwell had assembled his accomplices, and assigned 
to each his part in the midnight close of a slow and 
cruel conspiracy. At ten o'clock the sacks of pow- 
der were carried from a secluded hall, in Holyrood 
Abbey, near Bothwell's lodgings, across the gardens, 
by Wilson, Powrie, and Dalgleish, to "Blackfriars 



MARY QUE EN OF SCOTS. 171 

Wynd ; when Hay of Tallo, Hepburn and Ormiston, 
receiving them, deposited the treasure of ruin, with 
the aid of Paris, in the Queen's chamber. When all 
was read j for the match, Paris went to the King's 
room, and the Queen, recollecting her promise to be 
present that night at a masquerade in the palace, in 
honor of the marriage of her servant Bastian, kissed 
the feverish lips of Darnley, and taking a tender 
adieu, hastened with her suite, including Both well, by 
the light of torches, to the festival. The King watched 
her receding form with melancholy sighs ; and as 
silence settled ominously around him, Nelson, stand- 
ing in the deserted hall, heard him repeat the 55th 
Psalm. By a singular coincidence, it was in the 
English evening service of that clay. There was some- 
thing startling and prophetic in these verses, which 
fell tremulously on the " electric air :" 

"My lieai't is disquieted within me, and the fear of death is fal- 
len upon me. 

"Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and an horrible 
dread hath overwhelmed me. 

"And I said, that I had wings like a dove, for then would I floe 
away, and be at rest. 

" It is not an open enemy that hath done me this dishonor, for 
then I could have borne it. 

"Neither was it mine adversary that did magnify himself against 
me, for then peradventure I would have hid myself from him. 

" But it was even thou, my companion, my guide, and my own 
familiar friend." 

After the excitment of awakened fear had subsided, 
the desolate invalid fell asleep, with Taylor, his young 



if 2 MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

page, lying near him. Botliwell about midnight left 
the dance, and rejoined his associates. Doffing his 
elegant costume of black velvet and satin, for com- 
mon apparel, he took Dalgleish, Paris, Wilson and 
Powrie, and descended cautiously into the Queen's 
garden, directing his steps toward the southern gate. 
The appearance of men along that unfrequented path, 
in the darkness of night, surprised the sentinels on 
guard, and the quick challenge was given : " "Who goes 
there ? " " Friends ! " answered Powrie. " Whose 
friends ? " demanded the guards : " Friends of Lord 
Botliwell ! " was the reply. Passing on, the conspi- 
rators found the Nether-bon gate, by which they in- 
tended to leave the city, shut. Wilson calling to 
Galloway, the gate-keeper, awoke him, and desired 
him to " open the port to friends of Lord Botliwell ! " 
Galloway inquired what they were doing out of their 
beds at that hour of night. Without answering, they 
went on, and called for Ormiston, who had assisted in 
getting the powder. But upon reflection, apprehend- 
ing personal danger, he had retired to bed, and re- 
fused to regard the summons of Both well. At Black- 
friars Wyncl, the earl, leaving his comrades, proceed- 
ed alone to Kirk of Field, to meet Hepburn, and Hay 
of Tallo, in Balfour's garden. These two faithful in- 
struments of Botliwell just then entered, by the false 
keys, into Darnley's apartment. The noise startled 
the unquiet sleeper, and he sprang from his bed to 
escape. The messengers of death seized him, and in 
a moment he was gasping for life in their grasp. 
Having strangled the page in the same manner, the 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 173 

bodies were removed to an orchard not far distant. 
Hepburn then lighted the match, which ran to the 
gunpowder below, and with Bothwell, and Hay of 
Tallo, retired to see the explosion. 

There those daring conspirators stood in the still- 
ness of deepest night, the King's dying cries yet in 
their ears, for a quarter of an hour, when, with a ter- 
rific shock and noise, the house flew in fragments, 
leaving the body of Darnley unscathed and unbruised 
by the scattered wreck. 

The bandits then went with speed to Edinburgh. 
Bothwell, failing on account of the arm. maimed in 
fight, to climb as he expected over a broken rampart, 
was obliged again to awaken Galloway, and enter by 
!Nether-bon gate. Upon approaching the palace, the 
sentinels challenged the murderers, but permitted 
them to pass. Bothwell went hurriedly to his cham- 
ber, drank wine to calm his agitation, and sought re- 
pose. His heart was still beating tumultuously, 
when Hacket, a servant, knocked abruptly at the 
door. It was opened, and he entered, the very ghost 
of terror. Bothwell, with great self-command, in- 
quired what was the matter. Hacket answered : 
"The King's house is blown up, and I trow the King 
is slain." Bothwell started with apparent amaze- 
ment, and shouted, " Treason ! " Dressing himself, 
he was joined by Huntley, and they went to inform 
the Queen. The bold assassin then repaired with a 
band of soldiers to the place of his successful villainy. 
At day-break, multitudes, called together by the ex- 
plosion, and the tidings which followed swiftly, gath- 



174: MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

ered around the demolished dwelling, and the ghastly 
forms of the King and his unoffending servant. Both- 
well dispersed the wondering and indignant throng, 
and forbidding any examination of the bodies, order- 
ed them taken to an adjacent house. The quick eye 
of the many observers, however, had noticed the ab- 
sence of mutilation, and that not so much " as the 
smell of fire was on the garments" of the dead. 
Darnley was buried privately in the chapel of Holy- 
rood. And now followed the fierce commotion in the 
world of thought. The moral atmosphere was sur- 
charged w^ith the elements of retribution, to fall ere- 
long somewhere ; and millions of minds at home and 
abroad were feeling for the fearful secret of guilt. It 
is impossible to escape the conviction that Mary was 
the responsible motive of Bothwell's ambition, as 
Darnley was the helpless sacrifice. She transmitted 
without delay a communication to the Archbishop of 
Glasgow, which certainly is marked with extraordi- 
nary coolness of narration : 

"Edinburgh, Feb. 10, 1567. 

" Most Reverend Father in God, and trusted Coun- 
sellor, we greet you well : 

" We have received this morning your letters of 
27th January, by your servant, Robert Drury, con- 
taining in one part sic advertisement as w T e find by 
effect over true, albeit the success has not altogether 
been sic as the authors of that mischievous fact had 
preconceived and put it in execution ; and if God in 
his mercy had not preserved us, as we trust, to the end 



MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 175 

that we may take a rigorous vengeance of that mis- 
chievous deed, which, ere it shall remain unpunished, 
we had rather lose life and all. The matter is so hor- 
rible and strange, as we believe the like was never 
heard of in any country. 

" This night past, being the 9th of February, a lit- 
tle after two hours after midnight, the house wherein 
the King was lodged was, in one instant, blown into 
the air, he lying asleep in his bed, with sic a vehe- 
mency that of the whole lodging, walls and other, 
there is nothing remaining ; na, not a stone above an- 
other, but all either carried far away, or dang in dross 
to the very ground stone. It must be done by the 
force of gunpowder, and appears to have been a mine. 
By whom it has been done, or in what manner, ap- 
pears not yet. 

" We doubt not, but according to the diligence our 
council has begun already to use, the certainty of all 
shall be usit shortly, and the same being discovered, 
which we wot God will not suffer to lie hid, we hope 
to punish the same with sic rigor as shall serve for 
example of this cruelty to all ages to come. Always 
whoever has taken this wicked enterprise in hand, we 
assure ourselves it was dressit as well for ourself as 
for the King, (for we lay for the most part of all last 
week in that same lodging, and was there accompa- 
nied with the most part of the lords that were in this 
town,) and that same night at midnight, and of very 
chance tarried not all night there by reason of some 
masks at the abbey (ITolyrood) : But we believe it 
was not chance but God, that put in our head. 



176 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

" "We dispatched this bearer upon the sudden ; there- 
fore write to you the more shortly. The rest of the letter 
we shall answer at more leisure, within four or five 
days, by your own servant. And so for the present 
we commit you to Almighty God." 

Mary appeared crushed with sorrow, but it took the 
form of silent dejection. She displayed none of the 
laudable energy with which she hunted out the slay- 
ers of Kizzio. Returning to her chamber, she would 
see none but Bothwell. There is also the testimony 
recorded by Laing, given in subsequent trials before 
the judges, and upon the scaffold, by the menials in 
this murderous work. From the reconciliation with 
Darnley at Glasgow, there is a train of circumstantial 
evidence of Mary's complicity, more conclusive than 
that which has consigned many a criminal to the ex- 
ecutioner's axe. This conviction of her guilt at the 
tribunal of unbiased judgment, however reluctantly 
allowed, is only a single item of proof, darkening 
the historic annals of a fallen race, that intellect, 
beauty, and pride of place are no security against the 
insidious and destructive power of unsubdued selfish- 
ness, taking the descending channel of wild and stormy 
passion. Nothing but Christian humility and trust 
in an infinite Guide, can save, amid strong tempta- 
tions, immortality in a hovel or on a throne, from the 
strand of moral ruin. 



CHAPTER V. 

HART'S MOVEMENTS AFTER THE DEATH OF DARNLET MART AT SETON 

POPULAR FEELING THE EARL Off^ LENNOX WRITES MART LETTER FROM 

ELIZABETH MART'S INTIMACT WITH BOTHWELL TOE MOCK TRIAL AND 

ACQUITTAL OF THE EARL HIS ARROGANCE AND DESIGNS THE BANQUET 

THE NOBLES SIGN THE BOND PRATING MART TO MARRT BOTHWELL 

HIS RUDENESS TO THE QUEEN HER DEVOTION TO HIM THE STRATAGEM 

TO HASTEN THE WEDDING ITS SUCCESS MART'S RETURN TO EDINBURGH 

THE NUPTIALS DOMESTIC DISCORD EMBASSIES REBELLION FEEL- 
ING IN THE COURT OF CHARLES IX. OF FRANCE THE CONFEDERATES MARCH 

TOWARDS BORTHWICK CASTLE BOTHWELL ESCAPES MART'S FLIGHT — 

THE PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE MEDIATION OF DE CROC THE QUEEN'S 

EXTREMITT MARCH TO EDINBURGH HER DISTRESS THE WARRANT 

FOR HER IMPRISONMENT MART STUART IN LOCH LEVEN CASTLE. 

Mart, immediately after the horrors of the King's 
assassination,, wrote to Archbishop of Glasgow, in 
which she deplored " that mischievous deed," and 
adds : " The matter is so horrible and so strange, as 
we believe the like was never heard of in any coun- 
try." She strongly affirms that a fortunate chance 
alone saved her from sharing the fate of Darnley ; 
and expresses an entire ignorance of the authors of 
the crime, in the following passage : " By whom it has 
been done, it appears not as yet ; but the same being 
discovered by the diligence our council has begun al- 
ready to use, we hope to punish the same with such 
H* 12 



178 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

rigor, as shall serve for example of this cruelty to all 
ages to come." It was left to her privy council, most 
of whom were actors in the regicide, and whose gui- 
ding genius was the remorseless Lethington, to inform 
the French court of what had occurred. After ma- 
king a favorable impression on Catherine De Medici 
and her nobility, February 12th, she issued a procla- 
mation, offering a reward of two thousand pounds to 
any one who would disclose the murderers of her hus- 
band, or give information which would lead to Uieir 
detection. This was the signal for a public expression 
of popular feeling. 

The convictions of hitherto silent observers of pass- 
ing events, came to the surface with fearful distinct- 
ness and rapidity, as if past atonement were made for 
the painful and brief delay. The night after the roy- 
al proclamation, a paper was fastened on the door of 
Tolbooth, the common prison, branding Bothwell, 
James Balfour, and David Chambers > (a friend of the 
earl) as the guilty men. At dead of night, strange 
voices echoed the same charge on the quiet air along 
the streets of the capital. Placards added the names 
of the Queen's servants, Bastian, Rizzio's brother, 
and others, to the instruments of crime. Meanwhile, 
Mary not only neglected to arrest the less prominent 
conspirators, but, notwithstanding the ominous mur- 
murs and printed tokens of indignant opinion around 
her palace, she was on terms of familiarity with Both- 
well, the most suspicious and lawless noble in her 
realm. He followed her to the mansion of Lord Se- 
ton, where she went while the excitement of the 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 170 

masses was increasing every hour. But the Queen 
was not a monument of grief, nor active in the work of 
securing the criminals. "Writes Tytler, who is an apol- 
ogist for Mary : " It did not escape attention, that 
scarce two weeks after her husband's death, while in 
the country and in the city all were shocked at the 
late occurrences, and felt them as a stain on their na- 
tional character, the court at Seton was occupied in 
gay amusements. Mary and Bothwell would shoot 
at the butts against Huntley and Seton ; and on one 
occasion, after winning the match, they forced these 
lords to pay the forfeit in the shape of a dinner at 
Tranent." 

Says Mignet : " While engaged in these recreations, 
Mary Stuart was besieged by the accusing distrust of 
her people, and the bitter complaints of the Earl of 
Lennox. At Edinburgh, which had been disturbed, 
on the fatal night of the 9th of February, by the 
band which had left Holyrood palace, reports were 
current which denounced by name the deviser of the 
assassination, and vaguely indicated his accomplices. 
A bill fastened on the Tron in the market-place, de- 
clared that the smith who had furnished the false keys 
to the Eang's apartment would, on due security, come 
forward and point out his employers. Two new pla- 
cards were also hung up, on one of which were written 
the Queen's initials, M. K., with a hand holding a 
sword ; and on the other Bothwell, with a mallet 
painted above, as having been an instrument with 
which the murder was committed. The whole city 
was in a state of extreme agitation. The Presbyte- 



180 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

rian ministers preached with sombre vehemence, call- 
ing on God ' to reveal and revenge.' 

" The Queen was included in the suspicions of the 
populace, and the idea of her complicity daily gained 
ground. Bothwell became furious, and attempted to 
intimidate public opinion. Accompanied by fifty 
armed men, he rode into Edinburgh and publicly de- 
clared that if he knew who were the authors of the 
placard, he would ' wash his hands in their blood.' 
But, animated by suspicion as much as by anger, 
whenever he spoke to any one, of whose friendship 
he was not assured, he watched his movements with 
a jealous eye, and always kept his hand on the hilt 
of his dagger." 

On the 20th of February, the Earl of Lennox, Darn- 
ley's father, who had waited vainly for decisive meas- 
ures for the arrest and punishment of the conspira- 
tors, wrote Mary most earnestly, to delay no longer. 
He adds : 

" I am forced by nature and duty to beseech your 
majesty most humbly, for God's cause, and the honor 
of your majesty, and this your realm, that your high- 
ness would, with convenient diligence, assemble the 
whole nobility and estates of your majesty's realm, and 
they, by your advice, to take such good order for the 
perfect trial of the matter, as I doubt not but, with 
the grace of Almighty God, his Holy Spirit shall so 
work upon the hearts of your majesty and all your 
faithful subjects, as the bloody and cruel actors of 
this deed shall be manifestly l^aown. And although 



MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 181 

I know I need not put your majesty in remembrance 
thereof, the matter touching your majesty so near as 
it does, yet I shall humbly desire your majesty to 
bear with me, in troubling your highness therein, 
being the father of him that is gone." 

The Queen kindly responded, but adroitly passing 
by the main point, told him that the first business 
before her Parliament, already summoned, would be 
to press rigorously the investigation of " the King, 
her husband's cruel slaughter." 

Meanwhile, her servants, who had been denounced, 
fled from the kingdom ; Powrie and Wilson, at Both- 
well's order, went to the Castle of Hermitage, on the 
English frontier ; while the Earl of Lennox renewed 
his entreaties, urging that the deed of darkness was 
above the usual course of Parliamentary debate ; " of 
such weight and importance, which ought rather to 
be with all expedition sought out and punished to the 
example of the whole world." 

In regard to the placards to which Lennox alluded 
in his appeal, Mary said in reply, that while they 
were contradictory, " if there be any names mentioned 
in them that you think worthy to suffer a trial, upon 
your advertisement, we shall so proceed to the cogni* 
tion taking as may stand with the laws of the realm ; 
and being found culpable, shall see the punishment 
as vigorously executed, as the weight of the crime 
deserves." 

Elizabeth was not an indifferent spectator of recent 
events. She sent a message by Sir Henry Killigrew, 



JLS2 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

which disclosed her suspicions and ripening dislike of 
Mary Stuart : 

"Madam, my ears have been so astonished, and 
my mind so grieved, and my heart so terrified, at hear- 
ing the horrible sound of the abominable murder of 
your late husband and my deceased cousin, that I 
have even now no spirit to write about it ; and al- 
though my natural feelings constrain me greatly to 
deplore his death, as he was so near a relation to me, 
nevertheless, boldly to tell von what I think, I can- 
not conceal from myself that I am more full of grief 
on your account than on his. O madam ! I should 
not perform the part of a faithful cousin or an affection- 
ate friend, if I studied rather to please your ears than 
to endeavor to preserve your honor ; therefore I will 
not conceal from you what most persons say about the 
matter, namely, that you will look through your fin- 
gers at taking vengence for this deed, and have no inten- 
tion to touch those who have done you this kindness, as 
if the act would not have been perpetrated unless the 
murderers had received assurance of their impunity. 
Think of me, I beg you, who would not entertain such 
a thought in my heart for all the gold in the world. 
J exhort you, I advise and beseech you to take this 
thing so much to heart, as not to fear to bring to judg- 
ment the nearest relation yon have, and to let no 
persuasion hinder you from manifesting to the world 
that you are a noble princess, and also a loyal wife." 

In France the impression was spreading that Mary 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 183 

"was guilty, and lier reverend friend, the Archbishop 
of Glasgow, implored her for her own sake, to visit 
the merited vengeance upon the heads of the regicides. 
Eut the weeks departed, and nothing was done by the 
Queen to vindicate her sullied honor. 

She continued, without interruption, her intimacy 
with Bothwell, and lavished upon him royal favors. 
She gave him the command of the Castle of Edin- 
burgh, and added other desirable seats to his posses- 
sions. Compelled at length, by the pressure of remons- 
trances and popular feeling, to abandon the posture 
of indifference, Mary called a council, of which Both- 
well was a member, and with the consent of the no- 
bles, decided to bring the earl to trial. With singular 
haste, she ordered Lennox to appear on the 12th of 
April, two weeks after the meeting of council, and 
sustain his accusations against Bothwell. Public 
rumor had singled out this daring favorite of Mary. 
~No man was bold enough to testify in court to his 
criminality ; he was no common adversay, and fear 
guarded his person, while scorn grew intense from 
the dread of his wrath. 

The artizan who wrought the false keys to Darn- 
ley's chamber, refused to reveal his knowledge of the 
conspiracy, because the security demanded was not 
furnished. Lennox urged that " the suspected per- 
sons continuing still at liberty, being great at court, 
and about your majesty's person, comforts and en- 
courages them and theirs, and discourages all others 
that would give an evidence against them." 

Elizabeth joined with the dereaved £ather 2 in advis- 



184 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

ing the same measures, and sufficient time to procure 
evidence which would convict the guilty. Warning 
Mary of the universal abhorrence the unanswered 
charge of so base a crime would kindle, she concludes, 
" And rather than this should happen to you, I would 
wish you an honorable burial more than a sullied 
life. I pray the Lord to inspire you to do what may 
most conduce to your honor and the consolation of 
your friends." There is, in this wise counsel, a dig- 
nified sense of queenly honor, and a real kindness, 
which soften the imperious nature of the masculine 
Elizabeth. 

The infatuated Queen remained unmoved in her 
fidelity to the aspiring Bothwell, who was allowed to 
arrange the preliminaries of a mock trial. On April 
12th, the day appointed, the assize oppened at the 
Tolbooth, before a jury of noblemen, Both well's peers 
and partizans. The tribunal was presided over by 
one of the fautors of the murder, the Earl of Argyle, 
then hereditary lord high justice, and guarded by 
two hundred hackbutters ; while four thousand of 
Bothwell's armed adherents mustered in the streets 
and squares of Edinburgh. The law officers of the 
crown were either bribed or intimidated into silence ; 
no witnesses were summoned. The accuser, the Earl 
of Lennox, who was on his road to the city, surrounded 
by a large force of his friends, received orders not to 
enter Edinburgh with more than six in his company ; 
and he, therefore, declined to come forward in person. 
The accused, the Earl of Bothwell, presented himself 
before the court of justice with a confident and care- 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 185 

less air. Mounted on the late King's favorite horse, 
and surrounded by guards, he was escorted to the 
Tolbooth, with base obsequiousness, by a large num- 
ber of gentlemen. As he passed before the Queen, 
who was standing with lady Lethington, at one of the 
windows of Holyrood Palace, he turned towards her, 
and she gave him a friendly greeting for a farewell. 
She expressed her sympathy with his position even 
more publicly, by sending him, rather from impa- 
tience than anxiety, a token and message whilst he 
was before his judges." 

The indefinite indictment, implicating Bothwell, was 
read in court ; Lennox appeared by proxy, requesting 
farther delay; the crown lawyers were mute; the 
earl pleaded not guilty, and in the absence of all tes- 
timony, he was unanimously acquitted. Emboldened 
by the victory, he published a haughty challenge to 
any gentleman, who dared to whisper against him 
the accusation of murder, to meet him in private 
combat, and test with a duel their cause. The arro- 
gant earl now swept opposition and rivalry from his 
path of bloody renown, as a hunted lion, whose pur^ 
suers are at bay, treads proudly on the crushed foli- 
age of his forest lair, and in turn looks defiantly 
about him for prey. Mary created him high admi- 
ral, and lost no opportunity to increase his power and 
honors. 

Lennox fled to England, and Murray to France. 

Parliament assembled tw T o days after the judicial 
farce, and Bothwell was chosen, by Mary, to bear the 
crown and sceptre before her, when she entered the 



186 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

hall to make her opening speech. The sentence of 
the jury was ratified by the estates of Scotland, and 
the friends of Bothwell were rewarded. The Queen, 
to please the earl and conciliate the Presbyterians, 
abolished all statutes restricting the free enjoyment 
of divine worship according to the conscience of her 
Protestant subjects, and made provision for the poor 
clergy. But the stern Puritans were not so bribed, 
and maintained their attitude of condemnation of 
both herself, and the infamous noble, whose attentions 
to her were growing daily more offensive to her peo- 
ple. Even the market women would exclaim, as 
Mary passed, " God preserve your grace, if you are 
sochless * of the Kings death." 

Bothwell had reached an elevation, from which he 
gazed upward to the dazzling summit of his hopes, 
with but two intervening objects — his wife, and the 
young prince. A divorce would remove the first, and 
the second he believed would disappear after he had 
secured the hand of Mary. These, vaulting deeds 
were anticipated by discerning observers. Bothwell's 
might and revenge prevented the utterance to the 
Queen of the distressful apprehension. Lord Hemes, 
however, with great moral courage, traveled with the 
speed of a courier to Edinburgh, and besought her 
not to marry a man universally thought to be the 
assassin of the Ejng. Mary affected surprise, and 
denied the story. Failing in his mission, Lord Her- 
ries hastened from the danger while in Bothwell's 

* Innocent 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 187 

reach, and by relays of horses, escaped to his distant 
castle. 

Melvil also mentioned the exciting subject to the 
Queen, who related the interview to Both well. The 
cautious Lethington apprised Melvil of his perilous 
loyalty, in the following conversation : " So soon as 
the Earl Bothwell gets word, as I fear he will, he will 
not fail to slay you. I pray you retire with dili- 
gence." " It is a sore matter," replied Melvil, to see 
that good princess run to utter wreck, and nobody 
to forewarn her." " You have done more honestly 
than wisely," said Lethington. 

Bothwell was enraged, and sought Melvil's life, 
who secreted himself until Mary had calmed his pas- 
sions. The earl went fearlessly forward with his 
designs. On the 19th of April, when Parliament 
rose, he invited to a banquet, the Earls of Morton, 
Argyle, ITuntly, Cassilis,. Glencairn, Rothes, Suther- 
land, Caithness, and Eglinton, with Lords Boyd, Se- 
ton, Sinclair, Semple, Oliphant, Oglivy, Ross, Hac- 
cat, Carlile, Hume, Inverneith, and others. Bothwell 
then informed the assembly, that, with the Queen's 
consent already given, he designed to marry her, and 
desired their assent. 

The place of festivity was environed with armed 
men, to overawe the guests. There was a sudden 
change in the aspect of that brilliant array of nobi- 
lity, and agitation was visible on all faces but the 
tyrant's, on whom they gazed with silent submission. 
The Earl of Eglinton, in the commotion of the suc- 
ceeding moments, made his escape. The rest bowed 



188 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

to the dictation of the successful admirer of their 
Queen, and the jeweled crown she wore. 

The memorial of the nobles, praying the Queen to 
many Bothwell, after vindicating him in the Darn- 
ley affair, as a man " slandered by his evill willers 
and privy enemies ; " and enumerating his ancient 
honors, closes with this passage : 

" In moreover weighing and considering the time, 
and present, and howe the Queen's Ma tie , our sover- 
aigne, is now destitute of husband, in which solitary 
state the common weale of this our native country, 
may not permit her hignes always to remain and in- 
dure, but at sometime her highnes in appearance may 
be inclined to yield to the marriage ; therefore, in 
case the affectionate and faithful service of the said 
Earl done to her Ma tie , prove true to him, and his 
other good qualities and beiiauiour may move her 
Ma tie safer to humble herself (as prefering one of her 
own borne subjects unto all foreign princes) to take 
to husband the said Earl B., and every one us of un- 
der subscribed, uppon our honours, truthe and fidel- 
ite oblige us, and permit not only advance and forth- 
ward the said marriage to be solemnized complete 
betwixt her highnes and the said noble Lord with our 
wittes, counsayle, fortificacon and assistance in worde 
and deede, at suche times as it shall please her Ma tie to 
thinke it convenient, and how soon the laws shall 
leave it to be done. But in case any would presume 
directly or indirectly, openly or under whatsoever 
colour or pretence, to hinder, hold back or disturb the 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 189 

said marriage, we shall in that behalf esteeme, hold 
and repute the hinderers and disturbers and adversa- 
ries thereof as comon enemies and evill willers, and, 
notwithstanding the same, take part and fortifie the 
said Erie to the said marriage as far as it please our 
said Soueraigne Ladie to allow, and therein shall . . 
and bestow our lives and goodes against all that live 
or die only. As we shall answer to God, and uppon 
our honor and fidelitie, and in case we doe the contrary 
never to have reputacion, honestie nor credit in our 
time hereafter, but be accomptedunworthie faytheles 
Traytours. In witness of the which we have sub- 
scribed these particulars with our handes as follow- 
eth. At Eds the xix of Aprile, the year of our God 
1567 yeares. 

" To this the Queene gave her consent the" night 
before the marriage took place, which was the viii 
day of May the yeare of our God foresaid in this — . 

" The Queen's Ma tie , having seen and considered 
the bond aboue written, promised in the name of a 
Prince that she uows her successors shall never im- 
pute as cryme nor offence to any of the persons sub- 
scribed thereof their submycon or consent given to 
the matter conteyned therein. Nor that they nor 
there heires shall never be called or . therefore. J^or 
yet shall the said consent or subscribing be any deroga- 
con or spott to their honour or they . . . undutiful sub- 
jects for doing thereof, notwithstanding whatsoever 
thing may ... or be alleged on the contrary. In 
witnes whereof her Ma tie hath subscribed the same 
with her own hand. 



190 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 



" The names of such of the Nobility as subscribed 
to the Bond, so far as John Read might remember, 
of whom I had this Copy being his own hand. Be- 
ing commonly termed in Scotland Aynsters Supper. 



The Erles of 


Lords 


Murray 


Morton 


Boyd Rosse 


Argile 


Sutherland 


Seyton Herris 


Huntley 


Rothis 


Sinclair Hume 


Cassiles 


Glencaren 


Semple Eumermeth 


Cathnesse 




Oliphant Eglintoun sub- 

Oglivy scribed not but 

slipped away. 



Mary had given her signature to a promise of mar- 
riage, as follows : 

" We, Mary, by the grace of God, Queen of Scot- 
land, Dowager of France, &c, promise faithfully, 
sincerely, and without constraint, James Hepburn, 
Earl of Boduil, never to have any other spouse and 
husband but him, and to take him for such whenever 
he shall require, in spite of the opposition of relation, 
friend, or any others ; and as Gocl has taken my late 
husband, Henry Stewart, called Darnley, and in con- 
sequence I am free, not being under the authority of 
either father or mother ; I, therefore, protest that he, 
having the same liberty, I shall be ready to perform 
the ceremony requisite for marriage, which I promise 
him before God, whom I call you to witness, and the 
subjoined signature, by my hand, written this . . . 

"MaryR." 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 191 

Both well, in the meantime, began to exhibit his un- 
restrained temper in uncivil deportment towards 
Mary, and insisted on the substitution of his sister in 
the^ place of Lady Beres, the Queen's confidant. An 
extract from a letter to the earl, will show the humil- 
iating thraldom of her heart : "I will take such (ser- 
vants) as shall content you for their conditions. I 
beseech you that an opinion of another person be 
not hurtful in your mind to my constancy. Mistrust 
me but when I will put you out of doubt, and clear 
myself. Refuse it not, my dear life, and suffer me to 
make you some proof by my obedience, my faithful- 
ness, constancy, and voluntary subjection." Among 
the secret letters of the silver casket, whose authen- 
ticity, though denied by partizans of Mary, has not 
been disproved, was found a contract, dated a week 
before Bothwell's acquittal, signed by her, committing 
herself to the marriage. It was too recently that 
Darnley was buried to permit a wedding, and the only 
alternative was the resort to a ruse. It was arranged 
that the earl should intercept the Queen, upon her re- 
turn from a visit to the prince at Stirling Castle, and 
with a superior force make her his captive. 

This would afford an opology for submission, and 
slope the way to his feet, where she was panting to 
resign person and will to the embrace of her Moloch. 
Huntley, who was entrusted with the secret, used his 
persuasion to change her purpose. She immediately 
communicated her distrust of him to the earl. " He 
preached to me that it was a foolish enterprise, and 
that with mine honor I could never marry you, seeing 



192 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

that being married you did carry me away, and that 
his folks would not suffer it, and that the lords would 
unsay themselves, and would deny that they had said. 
I told him that, seeing I was come so far, if you did 
not withdraw yourself of yourself, that no persuasion, 
nor death itself, should make me fail of my promise." 

Again she addresses him on the subject of the ab- 
duction with enthusiasm : " As for the handling of 
myself, I heard it once well devised. Me thinks that 
your services and long friendship, having the good 
will of the lords, do well deserve a pardon, if above 
the duty of a subject you advance yourself, not to 
constrain me, but to assure yourself of such high 
place nigh unto me, that other admonitions, or foreign 
persuasions may not let (hinder) me from consenting 
to that that you hope your service shall make you one 
day to attain ; and to be short, to make yourself sure 
of the lords, and free to marry ; and that you are con- 
strained for your safety, and to be able to serve me 
faithfully, to use an humble request, joined to an im- 
portunate action." 

There were unforseen obstacles to the success of the 
stratagem, which appeared as the time appointed ap- 
proached. The Earl of Sutherland declared that 
death was preferable to the Queen's capture while 
under his protection ; and Huntley was fearful of be- 
ing accused of infidelity and treachery in the adven- 
ture. Mary apprized Bothwell of these annoyances, 
and concludes : 

" I have thought good to advertise you of the fear 
he hath, that he should be charged and accused of 



MAKY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 198 

treason, to the end that, without mistrusting him, you 
may be the more circumspect, and that you may have 
the more power ; for we had yesterday more than 
three hundred horse of his and of Livingston's. For 
the honor of Grod be accompanied rather with more 
than less ; for that is the principal of my care." 

April 21st, 1567, Mary Stuart proceeded to Stirling 
Castle. The Earl of Mar, who had charge of young 
James, from some suspicion, refused admission to 
more than two ladies with the Queen, into the royal 
apartment. The 24th she left Stirling for Edinburgh, 
and at Almond Bridge was met by Bothwell's force 
of six hundred horsemen. He seized Mary's horse by 
the bridle, and led her, without conflict, to his Castle 
of Dunbar. Huntley, Melvil, and Lethington were 
taken with her into captivity. When Melvil com- 
plained of the rude treatment, Captain Blacater re- 
plied that it was with the Queen's consent. This roy- 
al and romantic forage of the earl, was the first act 
in the drama of guilty and suicidal passion ; the next 
was the divorce of Lady Jane Gordon, Bothwell's 
wife. The Archbishop of St. Andrews was bribed to 
give the sentence of his court favorably ; and on the 
3d of May, the Catholic church, in behalf of Mary, 
and the Presbyterian church for the Protestant earl, 
declared the sentence of divorce. 

The same day the Queen returned to Edinburgh, 
with her accustomed cheerfulness and pageantry. 
"When she came to the gates of the city, Both well, 
with great respect, laid his hand on the bridle of Ma- 
ry's horse, and his soldiers then threw down their 
X 18 



194 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

spears, as the signal that their sovereign was not only 
free, but her lover was no more than a humble, 
unprotected servant of her majesty. The Queen 
expressed publicly her unconditional pardon of Both- 
well, and her determination to marry him. Notwith- 
standing the universal anticipation of the event, the 
distinct avowal of it by Mary Stuart sent a wave of 
burning indignation over the realm. When the order 
to publish the bans of marriage was sent to the Re- 
formed church, there was a prompt and spirited 
refusal. Knox was in England ; Craig, his representa- 
tive, gave the reason, that the Queen had not trans- 
mitted a written command. The justice clerk imme- 
diately furnished the paper, and Craig desired to meet 
the privy council. This was granted ; and when the 
fearless man of God confronted Bothwell, it was like 
the meeting of the Hebrew prophet and Ahab, while 
the sanguinary monarch quailed before the fiery de- 
nunciations of the untremulous reprover. He charged 
home upon the astonished no jle his crimes, and set 
before him " righteousness, temperance, and a judg- 
ment to come." Having cleared his conscience, he 
read in the sanctuary the hated bans, and added : 
" I take heaven and earth to witness, that I abhor 
and detest this marriage, as odious and slanderous to 
the world, and I would exhort the faithful to pray 
earnestly that a union against all reason and good 
conscience may yet be overruled by God, to the com- 
fort of this unhappy realm." 

Unmoved in her delirium of love by outward com- 
motion, Mary, on the 12th of May, appeared in the 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

High Court of Edinburgh, and made a declaration of 
her entire reconciliation to Bothwell, and her in- 
tention to increase his honors. He was made Duke 
of Orkney and Shetland, receiving the coronet from 
the hand of the Queen. Two days later, she signed 
the marriage contract ; and the next morning at 4 
o'clock the nuptials were celebrated in Holyrood pal- 
ace according to Catholic form, and in the Protestant 
church by Bishop of Orkney. The attendance of the 
nobility was small, and there was in the event, instead 
of joy heralding future good, to the popular mind, 
something deeply ominous of coming evil. The ti- 
dings spread with the morning light, like a political 
and moral eclipse, darkening the land. On the pal- 
ace gates was found this significant line from Ovid : 

" Mense malas maio nubere vulgus ait." 

It is not stfange that with such tokens, an unholy 
alliance, consummated within three months after 
Darnley's death, the wedding day should be distin- 
guished by a domestic quarrel. De Croc wrote to 
Catherine and Charles IX., of France, on the revolt- 
ing affair : 

"Tour majesties could not do better than be very 
displeased with the marriage, for it is a very unfortu- 
nate one, and already is repented of. On Thursday 
(May 15th) her majesty sent forme to inquire wheth- 
er I had perceived any strangeness between her and 
her husband ; which she wished to excuse to me, 
saying, that if I saw she was sorrowful, it was because 



196 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS, 

she would not rejoice, as she says she never will 
again, and desires only death. Yesterday (May 16th) 
being botli in a closet with the Earl of Bothwell, she 
called ont aloud for some one to give her a knife that 
she might kill herself. Those who were in the adjoin- 
ing room heard her. They think that unless God aids 
her, she will fall into despair." 

The storm passed, and Mary dispatched ambassa- 
dors to foreign courts to obtain their recognition of 
Bothwell as her lawful husband. She affirmed that 
her nobility urged the marriage, and the brilliant 
qualities of the faithful lord entitled him to the dis- 
tinction. Apologizing for Bothwell's violence, she 
directed the Bishop of Dumblane, commissioned to 
France and Borne, to add that the civil commotions 
in her kingdom made an alliance with a foreign 
prince impossible, while among her owif subjects the 
Earl of Bothwell was prominent, incomparably so, in 
wisdom, heroism, and ancestral honors. She there- 
fore yielded without repugnance to the wish of the 
three estates of her realm. Melvil, who went to the 
court of Elizabeth, was to offer Bothwell's acquittal 
in reply to the suspicion of his connection with Darn- 
ley's murder, and his legal divorce, in answer to the 
charge of marrying while another wife was living. 

Bothwell wrote to the Queen of England in a royal 
strain. He said : "Men of greater birth might have 
been preferred to the high station I now occupy, but 
none could have been chosen more zealous for the 
preservation of your majesty's friendship, of which 



MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 197 

yon shall have experience at any time it may be your 
pleasure to employ me." Having gathered into his 
hands the reins of authority in Scotland, he anticipa- 
ted quick success in the endeavor to gain the favor 
of the adjacent powers. But beneath this apparent 
calm, were dark and turbulent elements of retribution. 
The triumphs of lawless aifection and advancing great- 
ness, were like the delusive tranquillity and glare of a 
torrid day, when it is the prelude to an earthquake's des- 
olating march. A league, dating back before the mar- 
riage of Mary, had bound together in confederation 
against Bothwell, the principal nobles of Scotland. 
And now that Bothwell aspired to remove the prince 
from his path of homicidal glory, and the might to 
do it was already in his grasp, the slumbering rebel- 
lion awoke. It was the ripe harvest of embittered 
feeling which the Laird of Grange had expressed in 
a communication to Earl of Bedford, about the time 
of Mary's seizure by Bothwell : " This Queen will 
never cease unto such time as she have wrecked all 
the honest men of this realm. She was minded to 
cause Bothwell to ravish (seize) her, to the end that 
she may the sooner end the marriage which she prom- 
ised before she caused Bothwell to murder her hus- 
band. There is many that would revenge the mur^ 
der, but they fear your mistress. I am so suited for 
to enterprize the revenge, that I must either take it 
upon hand, or else I must leave the country, the 
which I am determined to do, if I can obtain license. 
I pray your lordship, let me know what your mistress 
will do, for if we will seek France, we may find favor 



198 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

at their hands." In a letter addressed a few days 
later to Bedford, lie gives an outline of the proposed 
campaign : 

" The heads that presently they agreed upon, is, 
first, to seek the liberty of the Queen, who is ravish- 
ed and detained by the Earl of Both well, who was 
the ravisher, and hath the strengths, munitions and 
men of war at his commandment. The next head is, 
the preservation and keeping of the prince. The 
third is, to pursue them that murdered the King. 
For the pursuit of these three heads, they have prom- 
ised to bestow their lives, lands and goods. And to 
that effect their lordships have desired me to write 
unto your lordship, to the end they might have your 
sovereign's aid and support for suppressing of the 
cruel murderer, Bothwell, who, at the Queen's last 
being in Stirling, suborned certain to have poisoned 
the prince ; for that barbarous tyrant is not contented 
to have murdered the father, but he would also cut 
off the son, for fear that he hath to be punished 
hereafter. The names of the lords that convened in 
Stirling was the Earls of Argyle, Morton, Athol, and 

Mar There is to be joined with the 

four forenamed lords, the Earls of Glencairn, Cassil- 
is, Eglinton, Montrose, Caithness ; the Lords Boyd, 
Ochiltree, Euthven, Drummond, Gray, Glammis, In- 
nermeith, Lindsay, Hume and Herri es." 

As an index of the prevalent disaffection, there is 
the fact of Melvil's connection with the civil outbreak, 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 199 

who was Mary's favorite, and minister to England 
just before the open revolt. He nnited his appeal 
with the lairds to Elizabeth, for aid in avenging the 
Kin'g's death, and touched a chord of anxious interest, 
by intimating that France would come to their help, 
if she refused. 

In the secret instructions of Charles IX. to De 
Croc, we have a glimpse of Mary's reputation in his 
court, and his purpose, rather than let Scotland be 
absorbed by England, to desert the Queen, and assist 
the rebellious nobles. "The said Sieur de Yilleroy 
will say, that his majesty having made known to him 
the opinion which he entertains of the pitiable suc- 
cess of the affairs of the Queen of Scotland, seeing 
what has been written to'him of her behavior by the 
said Sieur de Croc, and the strange news which he 
has received from other quarters ; and being also con- 
cerned that the enterprise of the said lords is secretly 
assisted and favored by the English — whose charity 
would only entail their ruin — the King wishes the 
said Sieur de Croc to know, that the desire and prin- 
cipal intention of his majesty is to keep the kingdom 
of Scotland in its attachment to himself, without per- 
mitting it, under the pretext of the many follies which 
are committed, to rebel and alienate itself from its 
attachment to himself, as it is certain it would do 
toward the said English, whom the said lords would 
seek as their protectors in this affair, if they saw they 
would have no assurance from the King." 

De Croc accordingly offered men and munitions of 
war to the revolutionary party, who also sought the 



200 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

favor of Elizabeth. Her policy fluctuated between 
her cherished opposition to the rebellion of subjects 
against their prince, and her apprehensions of French 
influence and strength in Scotland. She abhorred 
civil revolt, but she feared France more ; and Melvil 
received intimations that the confederates might anti- 
cipate aid from the Queen of England. 

Although the forces of the nobility augmented dai- 
ly, Mary was fearless, in her ignorance of their move- 
ments, of impending danger. Bothwell, by an at- 
tempt to assassinate Lethington, had driven him to 
the protection of his friend, the Earl of Athol, where 
he planned the furtherance of the formidable league. 
Meanwhile, the demand was made by the successor of 
Darnley, for the control of young James. The Earl 
of Mar, his guardian, refused, unless the prince were 
placed in Edinburgh Castle, under the care of an hon- 
orable, irreproachable governor. But this ambitious 
design was checked by the distinct tokens of battle. 
JMary was at Borthwick Castle, ten miles from the 
capital, whither she went to escape the troubled at- 
mosphere of her follies. The nobles had disregarded 
her summons to engage in a campaign to the frontier, 
under the command of Bothwell ; and he hastened in 
alarm to the Queen. Barely had he arrived, when 
the Earls of Morton, Montrose, and others, leading an 
army of ten thousand horseman, marched toward 
Borthwick Castle. Lord Hume pressed on in advance 
of the main force, with eight hundred men, to seize 
Bothwell by surprise. He had, however, escaped, 
and on the 10th of June, Mary, disguised in male ap- 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 201 

parel, under cover of darkness, fled on horseback, and 
rejoining Bothwell a few miles distant, rode with him 
to his Castle of Dunbar, which they entered at three 
o'clock in the morning, fully conscious that something 
more than royal pastime was before them. The rev- 
olutionists, thwarted in their first bold push to the en- 
closure of sovereignty, moved down upon Edinburgh. 
Along the line of march additions were made to their 
ranks, until, when, on the 11th of June, they arrived 
at the metropolis, they numbered three' thousand 
armed soldiers. The citizens proclaimed their adhe 
rence to the cause of the confederates. 

James Balfour, who had been left by Bothwell in 
command of the castle, instead of directing his ord- 
nance against the rebels, signified his willingness to 
enter the league. Immediately, the triumphant in- 
vaders issued the following proclamation : 

"That whereas, the Queen's majesty, being detain 
ed in captivity, was neither able to govern her realm, 
nor try the murder .of her husband, we of the nobility 
and council command all the subjects, specially the 
burghers of Edinburgh, to assist the said noblemen 
and council in delivering the Queen and preserving 
the prince, and in trying and punishing the King's 
murderers. And we command the lords of session, 
commissaries, and all other judges, to sit and do 
justice according to the laws of this realm, notwith- 
standing any tumult that may arise in the time of this 
enterprise ; with certification to all who shall be found 
acting contrary to these proceedings, that they shall 
I* 



202 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

be reputed as fautors of the said murder, and punish- 
ed as traitors." 

The order was then given to march against Both- 
well, who was charged with violence toward the 
Queen, an unlawful marriage, murder, and designs 
upon the prince royal. In two days, Mary and Both- 
well had gathered twenty-five hundred men, and left 
Dunbar on the 14th of June, reaching, the next day, 
G-ladsmoor, when the Queen made to her diminutive 
army the following address : 

" That a number of conspirators, having discovered 
the latent motive, borne to her and the Duke of Ork- 
ney, her husband, after they had failed in apprehend- 
ing their persons at Borthwick, had made a seditious 
proclamation to make the people believe that they 
did seek the revenge of the murder of the King, her 
late husband, and the relieving of herself out of bon- 
dage and captivity, pretending that the duke, her 
husband, was minded to invade the prince, her son ; 
all which were false and forged inventions, none hav- 
ing better cause to revenge the King's death than 
herself, if she could know the authors thereof. And 
for the duke, her present husband, he had used all 
means to clear his innocence, the ordinary justice had 
absolved him, and the estates of Parliament approved 
their proceedings, which they themselves that made 
the present insurrection had likewise allowed. As, 
also, he had offered to maintain that quarrel against 
any gentleman on earth undefamed, than which noth- 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 203 

ing more could be required. And as to her alleged 
captivity, the contrary was known to the whole sub- 
jects, her marriage with him being publicly contract- 
ed and solemnized, with their own consents, as their 
hand- writs could testify. Albeit, to give their treason 
a fair show, they made now a buckler of the prince, 
her son, being an infant, and in their hands ; whereas 
their intention only was to overthrow her and her 
posterity, that they might rule all things at their 
pleasure, and without controlment." 

With promises of reward for loyalty, the Queen 
rode forward beneath the folds of the royal standard, 
attired in a red dress, which reached only to her 
knees. She reached Carberry Hill, six miles from the 
capital, and took her position. The hostile army, hav- 
ing heard of her progress, hastened before the break 
of day, Sunday morning, toward the entrenchments 
of their beautiful and resolute sovereign. On one of 
their banners was pictured the slain Darnley, lying 
beneath the tree where he was found, with the prince 
kneeling beside the ghastly form, and under -the exci- 
ting scene was the motto, " Judge and avenge my cause, 
Lord ! " The flaunting colors sent a thrill of fear- 
ful enthusiasm through the ranks, and visibly moved 
the populace. The insurgents threw up their fortifi- 
cations on the heights of Musselburgh, about a mile 
from Carberry Hill. A little stream ran between the 
foes, who lay in full view of each other. !N"ot greatly 
unequal in numbers, they were more widely different 
in character and. feeling. The nobility and the ardor 



204: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

were both against Mary Stuart. There was along the 
lines of the confederates, where shone the badges of 
haughty earls and powerful barons, a furnace-glow 
of revenge — a panting to punish murder, and sub- 
due a scorned usurper. 

At this crisis, De Croc, the French ambassador, en- 
deavored, in the name of Charles, his king, to concil- 
iate the parties, and save a bloody conflict. The lords 
offered to withdraw from the battle-field, if the Queen 
would at once and forever separate herself from the 
odious Bothwell. They offered further, to meet him 
in single combat, according to his former challenge, 
if he would come forth between the armies. De Croc 
unwillingly bore the terms of loyalty to Mary. He 
crossed the valley, and found the Queen sitting on a 
green mound, her features kindling with determina- 
tion and hope. After the usual salutations, he began 
by representing the nobles as still her true, though 
offended subjects, when Mary interrupted with these 
words: "They show their affection very ill, by run- 
ning counter to what they have signed, and by accu- 
sing the man whom they acquitted, and to whom they 
married me." 

She expressed a readiness to receive them upon du- 
tiful submission. " At this moment Bothwell came 
up. * Is it of me that they complain ? ' he said to 
De Croc, in a voice loud enough to be heard by his 
army. ' I have just been speaking to them,' replied 
De Croc as loudly, ' and they have assured me that 
they are the Queen's very humble subjects and ser- 
vants ; and your mortal enemies,' he added in a low* 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 205 

er tone, 'since yon will know it.' 'What have I 
done to them ? ' answered Bothwell in the same tone, 
as if desirous to communicate his own assurance to 
those who heard him, and did not feel so bold as him- 
self. 'I have never caused displeasure to a single 
one of them ; on the contrary, I have sought to con- 
sult them all. What they are doing is out of envy 
for my greatness. Fortune is free to any who can re- 
ceive her ; and there is not a man among them who 
would not like to be in my place.' He then pro- 
posed, in order to prevent bloodshed, to fight between 
the two armies, although he had had the honor to es- 
pouse the Queen, any of his enemies who might leave 
their ranks, provided he were a gentleman. The 
Queen opposed this proposition, saying that she would 
not allow anything of the kind, and that his quarrel 
was hers also." 

By this time, the army in rebellion had passed the 
stream, and Bothwell retired to join his standard, and 
De Croc went to Morton and Glencairn, with the offer 
of pardon, if they would obey their Queen. " We 
have not come here," said Glencairn, " to solicit pardon 
for ourselves, but rather to give it to those who have 
offended." "We are in arms," added Morton, "not 
against the Queen, but against the Duke of Orkney, 
the murderer of her husband. Let him be delivered 
up, or let her majesty remove him from her company, 
and we shall yield her obedience." 

Donning their casques, they ended the parley, and 
De Croc repaired to Edinburgh. Each army, accord- 
ing to usage, dismounted, and prepared to fight on 



206 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

foot. The royal force were irresolute, and demanded 
a personal combat between Bothwell and a champion 
from the enemy. The daring duke consented. Ma- 
ry was compelled to submit, because her ranks were 
failing. After rejecting the Laird of Tullebardene on 
account of inferior rank, Bothwell selected Morton, 
who immediately prepared to contend with two-hand- 
ed swords. ' Lindsay demanded the honor, as a ser- 
vant of the assassinated King, and kneeling in view 
of the whole army, prayed in a clear voice for strength 
to vanquish his guilty foe. While Mary was hesita- 
ting whether to permit the duel, her soldiers were de- 
serting ; a detachment of confederates had swept 
around the hill, cutting off the possibility of Both- 
well's retreat toward Dunbar. Mary yielded to the 
emergency, and consented to dismiss the duke, her 
husband, and attend the insurgents to the capital, on 
the terms of his safe return to Dunbar, and their re- 
newed obedience. Then followed a brief and affect- 
ing interview between Mary and Bothwell on Carber- 
ry Hill. Mutual pledges of fidelity were given, and 
mounting his horse in company with a few friends, he 
rode fleetly toward his castle. The separation, though 
neither knew it, was final. Sorrowfully, yet confi- 
dingly, Mary approached the Laird of Grange, who 
had hemmed in Bothwell just before by his military 
manoeuvre, and extending her delicate hand, which 
he kissed, submitted to his guidance. He took the 
bridle of her horse and conducted her into the bosom 
of the opposing army. They reverently received the 
Queen, who said : 



M 



AEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 207 



" My lords, I am come to you, not out of any fear I 
had of my life, nor yet doubting of the victory, if 
matters had gone to the worst ; but I abhor the shed- 
ding of Christian blood, especially of those that are 
my own subjects ; and therefore I yield to you, and 
will be ruled hereafter by your counsels, trusting you 
will respecf me as your born princess and Queen." 

The utterance of attachment to her, the condemna- 
tion of Bothwell, and insults of the common soldiery, 
were the commingling voices that fell upon her ear. 
But it was soon apparent that professions of obedience 
were like " the morning cloud and early dew." 

" The march commenced ; from the Queen's man- 
ner, it was supposed she anticipated a rescue, and in 
reality a party composed of the Hamiltons had ad- 
vanced for that purpose, but she was soon convinced 
her expectations were hopeless. "When she approach- 
ed the capital, a new trial awaited her, and she be- 
held the multitude poured forth, not to relieve or even 
to commiserate her distresses, but to display before 
her eyes a bloody ensign, on which was repre- 
sented the young prince, kneeling and invoking ven- 
geance on the authors of his father's murder. At this 
frightful image, Mary almost fell from her horse, and, 
bursting into an agony of tears, exclaimed, — "I am 
your native princess ! descended from the blood of 
Bruce ! Treat me not thus !" Her appeal was unre- 
garded. Even in the women, — her disheveled hair, 
her tears, her anguish, awakened no pity ; and she 
proceeded, amidst loud execrations, till she reached 



208 MART QUEEN OP SCOT 



S. 



the provost's house, where she was lodged for that 
night." 

The hours of darkness were devoted to lamentations 
- — cries for help — and piteous expressions of despair. 
In the morning, the "barbarous soldiery waived before 
her window the tragic flag ; when Mary raved like a 
lunatic, and with disheveled and neglected apparel, 
begged in the name of God for deliverance. The 
lords partially calmed her excitement with intima- 
tions of restoration to Holyrood and liberty. But her 
unalterable devotion to Bothwell, displayed in con- 
versation and communications, affirmed to have been 
sent to him at Dunbar, through a bribed messenger, 
decided her captors to run no farther hazard of war, 
and their own remorseless execution. At eight o'clock 
in the evening, Mary was removed to Holyrood Pal- 
ace, escorted by three hundred hackbutters. The lords 
then sat in council, and made out the order for her 
imprisonment. They set forth the necessity of taking 
arms ; her surrender ; and Bothwell's flight ; adding, 
" after they had opened and declared unto her highness 
her own estate and condition, and the miserable estate 
of their realm, with the danger that her dearest son, the 
prince, stood in, requiring that she would suffer and 
command the said murder and authors thereof to be 
punished, they found in her majesty such untoward- 
ness and repugnance thereto, that rather she appeared 
to fortify and maintain the said Earl Bothwell and his 
accomplices in the said wicked crimes, nor to suffer 
justice to pass forward ; whereby, if her highness 
should be left in that state, to follow her own inordi- 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 209 

nate passion, it would not fail to succeed to the final 
confusion and extermination of the whole realm. So 
that, after mature consultation, by common advice, it 
is thought convenient, concluded and decreed, that 
her majesty's person be sequestered from all society 
of the said Earl Bothwell, and from all having of in- 
telligence with him or any others, whereby he may 
have any comfort to escape due punishment for his 
demerits. And finding no place more meet or com- 
modious for her majesty to remain in, than the house 
and place of Lochleven, ordains, commands, and 
charges Patrick Lord Lindsay of the Byres, "William 
Lord Ruthven, and William Douglas of Lochleven, 
to pass and convoy her majesty to the said place of 
Lochleven, and the said lords to receive her therein, 
and there they and every one of them to keep her 
majesty surely, within the said place, and in nowise 
to suffer her to pass forth of the same, or to have in- 
telligence from any manner of persons, or yet to send 
advertisements or directions for intelligence with any 
living persons, except in their own presence and au- 
dience, or by the commandments and directions of 
the lords under subscribing, or part of them represent- 
ing the council at Edinburgh, or otherwise where they 
shall resort for the time, as they will answer to God, 
and upon their duty, to the commonweal of this coun- 
try, keeping these presents for their warrant !" 

In the night of June 10th, Mary, without a retinue, 
" mounted on a sorry hackney," attired in coarse cas- 
sock, and guarded by the savage Ruthven and Lind- 

14 



210 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

say, entered Lochleven Castle. This fortress lies 
north of Edinburgh, on a small island in the middle 
of the lake. The buildings covered nearly half of the 
land, and on three sides the waters laved the naked 
walls. The remaining side had a garden to relieve 
the view. The deep basement was a dungeon for 
solitary imprisonment. The only entrance to the 
square tower, which was the family residence, was 
through a window in the second story, by a ladder, 
raised and lowered with a chain. Mary was confined 
in an octagonal tower at one corner of the massive 
pile. The distance to the shore was half a mile. The 
castle was owned by William Douglas, half brother 
of Murray, whose mother, Margaret Erskine, formerly 
mistress of James V., Mary Stuart's father, was the 
Queen's mortal enemy. She was the wreck of a 
beauty, and proud as a Poman in her old age, boast- 
ing that her son, bom of Xing James, was lawful heir 
to 'the throne of Scotland. She also embraced the ex- 
treme view of the Puritans, and became an intolerant 
partizan. To her tender mercies Mary was commit- 
ted. The captivity of a sovereign, to her subjects was 
a novel and startling event. While Europe had been 
the arena of revolutionary conflicts, till these games 
of oppressive, unprincipled monarchs, and the out- 
raged masses, were familiar horrors, this sacriligious 
invasion of the royal prerogative, was an alarming 
precedent. But such was the loss of popular interest 
in Mary at home, that the timorous friends of the 
Queen were quite indifferent to her fate. Philip of 
Spain was busy with a revolt in Netherlands ; and 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 211 

Elizabeth only, of the surrounding monarchs, gave to- 
ken of decided solicitude in the issue of the daring 
arrest. She was indignant at the lawlessness of the 
rebels in the confinement of Mary's person* yet she 
feared the captive as a rival. And while she sent a 
letter of condolence to the prisoner of Lochleven, an- 
other conveyed her sympathy and offers of support 
to the insurgents. Poor Mary ! Deserted and envi- 
roned with gloomy walls that were washed with lone- 
ly waters; watched by Elizabeth, whose imperious 
gaze was always resting on the aspiring daughter of 
Stuart ; and, worse than a widow — what hours of re- 
flection were hers ! But ambition ruled the woman^ 
and she was unchastened with the -satire which the 
tragical romance of her fate made upon human great- 
ness. 



CHAPTER VI. 

new dangers threaten mart sir james melvil elizabeth's in- 
terposition — the designs and action of the confederates — 
Throckmorton's embassy and instructions — the coronation of 

james the arrival of murray his interview with mary is 

proclaimed regent the people approve the measure elizabeth 

only interferes murray triumphs bothwell's fate his com- 
panions mary in prison attempts to escape she is at length 

successful raises an army the battle mary flies reaches 

carlisle writes elizabeth throws herself on the mercy of 

the queen of england negotiations elizabeth demands a trial 

of mary letters to her from the captive preparations for 

the conference the court at york the position and error of 

MARY. 

On the 20th of June, Mary's peril was greatly in- 
creased by circumstances which are related by Mignet : 
u George Dalgleish, Bothwell's chamberlain, had been 
arrested with a casket which he was, doubtless, con- 
veying to Dunbar, and which contained some private 
papers that furnished decided proofs of Mary's guilt. 
This casket was made of silver, overgilt with gold, 
and surmounted with the cypher of Francis II., who 
had given it to Mary. Mary, in her turn, had given 
it to Bothwell, who had inclosed in it some letters 
which she had written to him in her own hand-wri- 
ting, both before and after the murder of the King, 



MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 213 

some sonnets breathing the most passionate affection 
for him, and a contract of marriage which she had 
signed some time before the premeditated surprise at 
Almond" Bridge.* Bothwell had, doubtless, pre- 
served these papers as guarantees against the possible 
inconstancy of the Queen. He had left the casket in 
Edinburgh Castle, under the care of two of his ac- 
complices, George Dalgleish and James Balfour. Ei- 
ther by chance, or by the perfidy of the odious Bal- 
four, f who, like many others, had joined the confed- 

*"Ane silver-box owergilt with gold, with all missive letteris, 
contractis or obligationis, for marriage-sonetis or luif-balletis, and all 
utheris letteris contenit thairin, send and past betwixt the Quene, 
our said SoveraneLordismoder, and James, sumtyme Erie Bothuile, 
quhilk box and haill pieces within the samyn were takin and fund 
with umquhill George Dangleisch, servand to the Erie Bothuile, 
upon the xx day of June, the zeir of God, 1561 zeiris." Discharge 
to my Lord Morton, given on the 16th of September, 1568, by Mur- 
ray to Morton, (who, ever since the 22d of June, 1567, had kept 
possession of the silver box,) in presence of Lord Lindsay, the Bish- 
op of Orkney, the Commendator of Dunfermline, the Commenda- 
tor of Salmerinoch, Mr. Secretary Lethington, the Justice Clerk, 
and Master Henry Balnaves. See Keith, Appendix, p. 140. In a 
letter from Throckmorton to Queen Elizabeth, dated Edinburgh, 
25th July, 1567, allusion is made to the discovery of these pa- 
pers in the following terms : " They mean to charge her with the 
murder of her husband, whereof they say they have as apparent 
proof against her as may be, as well by testimony of her own hand- 
writing, which they have recovered, as also by sufficient witnesses." 
(See Keith, p.. 426.) 

f "Bothwell sent a servant to Sir James Balfour to save a little 
silver cabinet which the Queen had given him. Sir James Balfour 
delivers the cabinet to the messenger, and under-hand, giveth ad- 
vice of it to the lords. In this cabinet had Bothwell kept the let- 



214: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

eracy under the pretext <*f punishing a crime to which 
he had been a party, Dalgleish had been seized, and 
the papers secured. Powrie, Bothwell's porter, met 
the same fate. When examined before a court of 
justice on the 23d and 26th of June, they had both 
confessed how the plot against the King's life had 
been contrived and executed. The depositions of 
these two servants of Bothwell had furnished a surer 
basis for the prosecution of that great criminal ; and 
the lords of the secret council commanded that he 
should be seized in his Castle of Dunbar, and con- 
ducted to Edinburgh, to be punished as the murderer 
of the King. But whilst the confessions of Powrie 
and Dalgleish placed Bothwell's culpability beyond 
doubt, the papers found in the silver casket furnished 
terrible weapons against the Queen to those who 
wished to accuse and destroy her."* 

ters of privacy he had from the Queen ; thus he hept her letters to 
be an awe-bond upon her, in case her affections should change. By 
the taking of this cabinet, many particulars betwixt the Queen and 
Bothwell were clearly discovered. These letters were after print- 
ed; they were in French, with some sonnets of her own making." 
(Knox's History of the Reformation, vol. ii., p. 562.) 

* The annexed note gives a strong and interesting denial of the 
genuineness of the letters in the casket : 

"It is, forsooth, a boxe of letters taken from one Daighleysh, 
■who was executed for the Lorde Darnley's death, the Earles man, 
for sooth ; whiche letters he received at Edenborough of one Sir 
James Balfoure, to convey to his master ; Thus say they, but we 
say to you, as is sayd in Terrence, Non sunt haec satis divisa tem- 
poribus. The very time, if nothing else were, bewraieth you, and 
your whole cause withal. Is it to be thought, that either the Earle 
would send to the said Sir James, who had before assisted the fac- 



MARY Q¥BEN OF SCOTS. 



215 



At this exciting juncture, Melvil arrived, and saw 
Mary, in the presence of Lindsay and Enthven, who 
complained in her unshaken confidence toward her 
tried servant, that they were not allowed a private 
interview. Melvil was not a treacherous man, but his 
sympathies for distracted Scotland evidently led him 
to the standard of revolt; he expected no deliverance 
from thickening distress, under the reign of the Queen. 
Soon after this mission, Elizabeth dispatched Throck- 
morton, to confer with the nobles in regard to Mary's 
liberation and conditional restoration to her throne. 
The situation of the Queen of England was exceed- 
ingly delicate and difficult. Mary had asserted her 
right to the sceptre of Britain, and there were princes 
ready to sustain the claim, when the opportunity ap- 
peared. France and Spain were waiting to snatch 
the favorable turn of civil commotion, to advance the 
1 cause of papal Rome. 

To dispose of the royal captive, was not an easy 

tion against the Quene with the force and strength of Edenbo- 
rough Castle, and driven from thence the very Earle himselfe, or 
that the said Sir James would send any such thing to the Earle ? 
is it likely ? is it credible ? Had the forger and inventour of this 
tale, by seemely conveyance parted and divided the distinction of 
his times ? How say ye ? Whereas nowe it is in no case to be sup- 
posed or conjectured that such a wise vertuous ladie would sende 
any such letters; yet putting the case, that she had sent them, it is 
not to be thought, that either the recover thereof, or that she 
herselfe, whom ye conceave to have sent them, would have suf- 
fered them, for the hasarding of her estimation and honour, to 
remaine undefaced, namely, seeing there was a special mention 
made, and warning given forthwith to burn them." (Lesley's De- 
fence of Queen Mary's Honour: Andeeson's Collections, vol L) 



216 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

act of sovereign interposition. If restored to the realm 
in rebellion, an invincible army must be lier train ; 
if permitted to revisit France, it would give the Cath- 
olic cause a mighty advantage. The gifted and de- 
termined prisoner was no imaginary rival. And yet 
Elizabeth was so thoroughly a monarchist, that she 
hated insurrection, even by an abused and oppressed 
people. Her proposals, in the conflicting appeals to 
her power, were, after rebuking the Queen for her 
marriage of Bothwell, and the nobles for disloyalty ; 
that Mary be divorced, and enthroned ; that the 
abandoned duke and his associates be punished ; " that 
the ©as ties of Dunbar and Dumbarton should be en- 
trusted to the keeping of those nobles who were hos- 
tile to Bothwell ; that a Parliament should be assem- 
bled, which should appoint the wardens of the marches, 
and the governors of Edinburgh, Stirling, Inchkeith, 
and the other strongholds of the kingdom ; that a 
great council should be established, at which fi.ve or 
six of its members should always be present, without 
whose advice and consent the Queen should be unable 
to pass any act or make any appointment ; and, finally, 
that a general amnesty should be proclaimed." 

Lethington, Melvil and Lord Hume, instead of ac- 
ceding to the views of Elizabeth, emphatically accu- 
sedher of political indecision, and a vacillating policy, 
which would soon be the ruin of the kingdom, if 
Mary were invested with authority. John Knox, who 
had returned, upon learning of the Queen's imprison- 
ment, pledged to the dominant party, the entire sup- 
port of the Presbyterians, if they would ratify the 



MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 217 

statutes of 1560, which Mary had refused to sanction. 
The offer was accepted, and the last remnant of Po- 
pery was doomed, by the new order of things, to ex- 
tinction ; and the Protestant faith was made the 
religion of all the universities and public schools. 
The young prince was to have a Puritan education ; 
and, " to maintain the true religion now professed in 
the kirk of Scotland, and suppress all things contrary 
to it," was added to the coronation oath. The Re- 
formers advocated the moral equality of Christians, 
and denied the inviolability of kings ; and referred for 
precept and examples to the Bible. Knox openly 
denounced the Queen, and Buchanan affirmed that 
insubordination was the right of the people, when the 
crimes of the sovereign furnished the occasion. These 
opinions, maintained by men of intellect and severe 
morality, and sharpened with conscientious hostility 
to the Catholic dogmas, penetrated the common mind, 
and carried their less thoughtful advocates into the 
extremes of cruel fanaticism. The church presented 
a formal request that the late King's death might be 
avenged, " according to the laws of God, according 
to the practices of their own realm, and according to 
the laws which they call jus gentium, without respect 
of any person." Some of the lords dissented from the 
summary view, and demanded only Mary's divorce 
from Bothwell, and her return to the regal palace. 
Others wished to restore her to liberty, and requiring 
her abdication in favor of James, compel her to re- 
tire to France. While a third faction loudly urged 
the trial of the Queen for murder, her dethronement 
J 



218 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

publicly, and confinement in perpetual captivity. 
July 8th and 15th, Melvil visited Mary in prison, 
to negotiate, if possible, a divorce. But she was deaf 
to his importunity, and assured him that she would 
sooner sacrifice her throne than Bothwell. It was a 
fatal infatuation, that rendered Mary Stuart, amid all 
her augmenting dangers, and the counsel of England, 
France, and private advisers, unapproachable on the 
subject of abandoning Bothwell, who had already 
brought her to the dizzy margin of hopeless overthrow. 
" The Queen's obstinate determination not to desert 
Bothwell alarmed and irritated the lords of the secret 
council. They resolved to preclude the possibility 
of her doing them any future injury, by deposing her. 
This deposition was prepared under the form of a 
voluntary abdication, which would deprive her of 
power without degrading her. Three acts were ac- 
cordingly drawn up for Mary Stuart's signature. By 
the first, she renounced the government of the king- 
dom, declaring it was a burden of which she was 
weary, and which she no longer had strength or will 
to bear ; and authorized the immediate coronation of 
her son. The second and third conferred the regency on 
the Earl of Murray, during the minority of the young 
King ; and appointed the Duke of Chatellerault, with 
the Earls of Lennox, Argyle, Morton, Athol, Glen- 
cairn, and Mar, regents of the kingdom till the return 
of Murray from France, with power to continue in 
that high office, if he refused it. In case Mary Stuart 
should refuse to sign these acts, the assembled lords 
had determined to prosecute and condemn her for 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 219 

these tliree crimes — ' First, for breach and violation 
of their laws ; secondly, for incontinency as well with 
the Earl Bothwell, as with others ; and thirdly, for 
the murder of her husband, whereof, they say, they 
have as apparent proof against her as may be, as well 
by the testimony of her own handwriting, as also by 
sufficient witnesses.' 

" On the morning of the 25th of July, the ferocious 
Lindsay, and the insinuating Melvil, left Edinburgh 
on their way to Lochleven. One was the bearer of 
the three acts which were to strip her of her authori- 
ty ; the other was directed to warn the Queen of the 
dangers to which she would expose herself by refusing 
to sign them. Melvil saw her first, and told her all. 
That a public trial would be substituted for an abdi- 
cation — that the hostility of the lords towards her 
would become implacable — that her defamation 
would be certain, and the loss of her crown inevitable 
— and that her life would probably be endangered — 
were some of the consequences which Melvil assured 
Mary Stuart would result from refusal ; whilst he did 
not fail to insinuate on the other hand, that any deed 
signed in captivity, and under fear of death would be 
invalid." 

Mary was unyielding, though agitated with con- 
flicting emotions of hope and despondency, when 
the stern Lindsay entered, with the acts of the secret 
council. The terror of his presence decided the hes- 
itating Queen. Her eyes were suffused with tears, 
and, with a tremulous hand, she signed the papers. 
Lindsay then demanded from Thomas Sinclair the 



220 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

privy seal, and the work was finished. On the 29th 
of July, the nobles gathered at Stirling to crown the 
prince royal. The Hamiltons, who were a strong 
faction, opposed the coronation, and had resolved to 
deliver the Queen. Throckmorton, Elizabeth's am- 
bassador, refrained from the shadow of approval, and 
admonished the lords to take no rash measures. He 
awaited his sovereign's instructions, and soon receiv- 
ed them, in a strain of withering indignation against 
the insurgents. After repudiating with scorn the 
right to be judges of their ruler, she continued : 
" What warrant have they in Scripture, being sub- 
jects, to depose their prince ; but contrary, and that 
with express words in St. Paul, who, to the Romans, 
commanded them to obey jpotestatibus supereminenti- 
oribus gladium gestantibus, although it is well known 
that rulers in Rome were then infidels? Or what 
law find they written in any Christian monarchy, how 
and what sort subjects shall take and arrest the per- 
son of their princes, commit and detain them in cap- 
tivity, proceed against them by process and judgment, 
as we are well assured no such order is to be found 
in the whole civil law ? And if they have no warrant 
by Scripture or law, and yet can find out for their 
purpose some examples, as we hear by seditious bal- 
lads they put in print, they would pretend ; we must 
justly account those examples to be unlawful, and 
acts of rebellion : and so, if the stories be well weigh- 
ed, the success will prove them. You shall say that 
this may suffice to such as do pretend to be carried 
in their actions by authority either of religion or of 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 221 

justice. And as to others that for particular respect 
look only to their own surety, it were well done, be- 
fore they proceeded any further, if they did well con- 
sider how to stay where they be, and to devise how 
to make surety of their doings already past, than to 
increase their peril by more dangerous doings to fol- 
low. We detest and abhor the murder committed 
upon our cousin their King, and mislike as much as 
any of them the marriage of the Queen our sister with 
Bothwell. But herein we dissent from them, that we 
think it not lawful nor tolerable for them, being by 
God's ordinance subject^ to call her, who also by 
God's ordinance is their superior and prince, to an- 
swer to their accusations by way of force ; for we do 
not think it consonant in nature the head should be 
subject to the foot. 

" If they shall determine anything to the deprivation 
of the Queen, their sovereign lady, of her royal es- 
tate, we are well assured of our own determination, 
and we have some just and probable cause to think 
the like of other princes of Christendom, that we will 
make ourselves a plain party against them, to the re- 
venging of their sovereign, and for example to all pos- 
terity." 

July 29th, the infant James, then thirteen months 
old, was crowned at Stirling, and John Knox preach- 
ed the sermon of the grand occasion. The Eeformer 
seldom enjoyed a prouder triumph, than standing in 
the hall of Mary's stronghold, and proclaiming his 



222 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

Protestant views. The ceremonies were followed by 
bonfires, and all the popular demonstrations of glad- 
ness, on highland and in lowland, the King could 
have claimed, had he been sufficiently mature to com- 
prehend the pageantry about him. That coronation 
was one of a series of suggestive events. 

At Stirling Castle, Mary Stuart was crowned in the 
arms of her nurse ; there a son was born and baptized ; 
and while the captive mother was lamenting " the evil 
times," in prison, the wondering boy was the centre 
of enthusiasm. In the same renowned pile his rights 
were the theme of rejoicings and her solitude was the 
subject of heartless approval. 

Murray had heard in France of Mary's errors and 
calamities, and cherishing a tenderness and attach- 
ment toward his sister, set out, upon receiving intel- 
ligence of the coronation, for Scotland. Before he 
reached England, his hostility to the Queen's impris- 
onment was modified. A messenger, whom he had 
dispatched to Scotland, met him with the declaration 
of the nobles, and the disclosures of the silver casket. 
"When he entered the presence of Elizabeth, he was 
less ardent in Mary's cause than when in France. But 
the indignant Queen reiterated her denunciations of 
the lords, and her purpose to restore Mary Stuart to 
the throne. This increased Murray's alienation, and 
also the danger of the royal prisoner. The Hamil- 
tons had become traitors, and aspiring to the sove- 
reignty, were negotiating for the trial and execution 
of Mary. The advent of Murray at such a time, was 
an exciting incident. The different factions sent rep 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 223 

resentatives across the frontier to enlist his sympathy. 
He respectfully heard their appeals, but gave no 
pledges for the future. Then he crossed the bounda- 
ry of the kingdoms, an escort of thre<e hundred men 
attending him to Edinburgh. All eyes were turned to 
him, as the regent of distracted Scotland. 

He refused to decide, amid the conflicting views,of 
the people, until he had seen and conversed with Ma- 
ry. The nobles did not oppose the visit, because they 
had no power to prevent it ; and on the 15th of Au- 
gust, Murray, in company with Morton, Athol and 
Lindsay, repaired to Lochleven Castle. It was his 
purpose to secure her appointment of himself to the 
regency, and enter upon the government with the 
fairest prospect of success. 

" On seeing him enter her prison, Mary thought 
that her brother had come to be her friend and pro- 
tector. She burst into a flood of tears, and passion- 
ately complained of the unjust treatment she had 
experienced. Murray listened to her in silence, and 
neither commiserated nor consoled her. The suppli- 
ant Mary then said, turning towards Athol and Mor- 
ton: 'My lords, you have had experience of my 
severity, and of the end of it ; I pray you also let me 
find that you have learned by me to make an end of 
yours, or, at least, that you can make it final.' But 
they were as taciturn and gloomy as Murray. Alarm- 
ed at a visit that seemed to confirm the sinister reports 
which had been spread concerning her, Mary took 
her brother aside before supper, anxiously questioned 
him as to the intentions of the lords, and in vain 



224: MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 

endeavored to fathom Ms own projects ; but for two 
hours Murray continued silent and impenetrable. 
"When the bitter meal had passed away, Mary again 
desired to converse with her brother, 'and everybody 
being retired, they conferred together until one of 
the clock after midnight.' In this second interview, 
Murray threw off his premeditated reserve, and spoke 
to the Queen with terrible frankness and inexorable se- 
verity. He told her what he thought of herself and her 
misgovernment, pitilessly reminded her of her impro- 
prieties of conduct, and laid before her, one by one, all 
the actions, which, he said, had violated her conscience, 
sullied her honor, and comjDromised her safety. The 
unhappy Queen was plunged into despair by this ter- 
rible accusation, and she lost all courage. 'Some- 
times,' says Throckmorton, in his narrative of this 
painful scene, ' she wept bitterly ; sometimes she 
acknowledged her unadvisedness and misgovernment ; 
some things she did confess plainly ; some things she 
did excuse ; some things she did extenuate.' After 
having crushed her with the weight of these dreadful 
recollections, Murray left his sister in an agony of 
fear ; she thought that her fate was sealed, and that 
she must expect nothing but from God's mercy. In 
this state of mind she passed the remainder of the 
night. 

" The next morning she sent for her brother, and 
Murray once more entered her room. Perceiving the 
impression he had made, he assumed a milder mood, 
changed his tone, threw in some words of consolation, 
and assured her that he desired to save her life, and, 



MAEY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 225 

if possible, to preserve her honor. c But,' he added, 
* it is not in my "power, only ; the lords and others 
have interest in the matter. Notwithstanding, mad- 
am, I will declare to yon which be the occasions that 
may put you in jeopardy. For your peril, these be 
they : your own practices to disturb the quiet of your 
realm and the reign of your son ; to enterprise to es- 
cape from where you are, to put yourself at liberty ; 
to animate any of your subjects to troubles or disobe- 
dience ; the Queen of England or the French King 
to molest this realm, either with their war, or with 
war intestine, by your procurement or otherwise ; and 
your own persisting in this inordinate affection with 
the Earl Bothwell.' 

"At these words, Mary, who had remained under 
the dreadful impressions of the previous night, dis- 
cerned a gleam of hope. She threw herself into her 
brother's arms, and expressed her satisfaction at his 
assurance that he would protect her life, and the hopes 
he allowed her to entertain that her honor would be 
saved. In order to arrive more surely at this desired 
result, she conjured him not to refuse the regency, 
6 for by this means,' she said, ' my son shall be pre- 
served, my realm well governed, and I in safety.' 
Murray hesitated, and alleged reasons, the sincerity 
of which we cannot suspect, against undertaking so 
arduous a task. Always hurried away by irresistible 
impulses, Mary only entreated him the more urgently 
to sacrifice his own repugnance to the welfare of his 
sister. She suggested that he should make himself 
master of all the forts in the kingdom, requested him 

J* 15 



226 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

to take her jewels and other valuables into his custo- 
dy, and offered to give to his regency the support of 
her letters and the authority of her name. Murray 
at length assented, appearing to accept with resigna- 
tion what he doubtless most ardently coveted. Before 
leaving his sister, he enjoined the Lords Lindsay, 
Buthven, and Lochleven, ' to treat the Queen with 
gentleness, with liberty, and with all other good 
usage.' He then bade her farewell, ' and then began 
another fit of weeping, which being ajypeasecl, she em- 
braced him very lovingly, kissed him, and sent her 
blessing unto the jmnce, her son, by him.' 

" On this, as on many other occasions, Mary Stuart 
yielded to one of those rapid, momentary impressions 
which so frequently guided her conduct, and set at 
nought the dictates of prudence. At Lochleven, she 
displayed the same character as at the Kirk of Field, 
Almond Bridge, Carberry Hill, and shortly after- 
wards at Carlisle, always yielding to invincible pas- 
sions or deceptive opinions. After having been terri- 
fied into signing her deed of abdication, she had been 
surprised into giving her consent to it. This consent, 
which she ere long repented, had been obtained from 
her by the cold and astute Murray, whilst her troubled 
heart was passing from intense alarm to buoyant ho23e. 

"Assured of her important approbation, Murray 
proceeded to Stirling to visit the infant monarch, in 
whose name he was to govern, and returned to Edin- 
burgh on the 19th of August. Three days after, he 
was declared regent in the council chamber at the 
Tolbooth. Laying his hand upon the Gospels, like a 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 227 

true secretary and ardent supporter of the liberties of 
the realm, he took the following oath : < I, James, 
Earl of Murray, Lord Abernethy, promise faithfully, 
in the presence of the Eternal, my God, that I, during 
the whole course of my life, will serve the same Eter- 
nal, my God, to the uttermost of my power, accord- 
ing as he requires in his most holy word, revealed 
and contained in the New and Old Testaments ; and, 
according to the same word, will maintain the true 
religion of Jesus Christ, the preaching of his holy 
w^ord, and due and right administration of his sacra- 
ments, now received and practiced within this realm ; 
and also will abolish and withstand all false religion 
contrary to the same ; and will rule the people com- 
mitted to my charge and regiment during the minor- 
ity and less-age of the King, my sovereign, according 
to the will and command of God, revealed in his afore- 
said word, and according to the loveable laws and 
constitutions received in this realm, noways repug- 
nant to the said word of the Eternal, my God ; and 
w T ill procure to my uttermost, to the kirk of God and 
all Christian people, true and perfect peace, in all time 
coming. The rights and rents, with all just privileges 
of the crown of Scotland, I will preserve and keep 
inviolate ; neither will I transfer nor alienate the 
same. I will forbid and repress, in all estates and 
degrees, reif, oppression, and all kind of wrong. In 
all judgments I will command and procure that jus- 
tice and equity be kept to all creatures without excep- 
tion, as he be merciful to me and you, that is the Lord 
and Father of all mercies ; and out of this realm of 



228 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

Scotland, and empire thereof, I will be carefui to root 
that shall be convicted by the true kirk of God of 
the aforesaid crimes. And these things above writ- 
ten, I faithfully affirm by this my solemn oath.' The 
seventy-third psalm was then sung, and Murray was 
proclaimed regent at the Market Cross, amid the ac- 
clamations of the people." 

The wheels of revolution had reached a plane of 
rest. The extreme and conservative parties submit- 
ted without opposition to this administration. Mur- 
ray took the helm of the tempest-tossed ship of State, 
with a steady hand, and the approval of his subjects. 
Foreign princes acquiesced, excepting Elizabeth, 
whose anger was kindled intensely with repeated fail- 
ures to influence the captors of Mary ; but she was 
powerless to avert the consummation attained, and 
also to reverse the march of empire. Lethington as- 
sured Throckmorton, the English ambassador, that the 
lords were ready for war, and rebuked the imperious 
tone of Elizabeth. Murray added : " Though I were 
not here at the doings past, yet surely I must allow 
of them ; and seeing the Queen and they have laid 
upon me the charge of the regency, (a burden which 
I would gladly have eschewed,) I do mean to wear my 
life in defence of their action, and will either reduce 
all men to obedience in the King's name, or it shall 
cost me my life." 

Murray soon obtained command of the fortresses 
of the realm, and was virtually monarch. 

Eothwell had fled from the Castle of Dunbar to the 



MARY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 229 

Highlands, where he held estates.. An armed de- 
tachment, whose chieftain was the Laird of Grange, 
went in hot pursuit of the fugitive. The freebooter 
then equipped a small fleet, and sought security amid 
the Shetland and Orkney isles, whose frowning cliffs 
dot the dark and tempestuous seas of the North. The 
Laird of Grange followed in his wake, seized two ot 
his vessels, and was near Bothwell's ship, when he 
struck a shoal, and the daring outlaw made his escape ; 
striking out into the open ocean, he was driven by a 
■ wild tempest to the coast of Norway. His career was 
commenced as a pirate ; and falling in with a Danish 
man-of-war, he was boarded and # taken to Denmark. 
The king, Frederick II., refused to give up the noto- 
rious Bothwell, either to Murray or to the Queen of 
England, but confined him in the prison of Malmoe 
Castle. After the torture of constant fear of being 
delivered up to his enemies, his restless spirit, chafing 
in restraint, like a caged lion lashing the bars of his 
iron lair, he died a despairing lunatic. His associates 
and minions were many of them arrested, tried and 
executed. Powrie, Dalgleish, Hay of Tallo, and Hep- 
burn were of the number. 

The most distinguished conspirators, however, on 
account of their position and influence, received hon- 
ors, instead of the executioner's axe. And it has al- 
ways been thus ; human justice seldom reaches a 
brow which reflects the smile of mammon, or wears 
the laurel of renown; foreshadowing the necessity 
and desirableness of a final tribunal, where the evi- 



230 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

dence and sentence will be unquestioned and unal- 
terable. 

December, 1567, tlie Parliament assembled with 
unusual completeness in number, and an imposing 
array of titles. Four bishops, fourteen abbots, twelve 
earls, sixteen lords and eldest sons of lords, and 
twenty-seven commissioners of burghs were present. 
This Parliament enacted religious uniformity by rati- 
fying the Confession of Faith of 1560, and sanction- 
ing the entire abolition of Catholicism ; it resumed 
from the laymen a third of that ecclesiastical property 
which they had seized, and applied it to the support 
of ministers and schools belonging to the Reformed 
church ; it recognized the legal elevation of the 
young Xing to the throne of Scotland, sanctioned the 
appoinment of the regent, and keenly debated the 
course to be pursued with regard to the Queen — 
some wishing to brings her at once to trial, while 
others desired merely to retain her in captivity. The 
more moderate party gained the victory ; but, in order 
to justify the confederate lords for having taken arms, 
imprisoned, and dethroned their sovereign, the Par- 
liament passed an act, by the terms of which Mary 
Stuart was seriously criminated. It contains the fol- 
lowing clause: "That the cause, and all things de- 
pending thereon, were in the Queen's own default, in 
so far as by divers her privy letters, written wholly 
with her own hand, and sent by her to James, some- 
time Earl of Bothwell, chief executor of the said hor- 
rible murder, as well before the committing thereof, 
as thereafter ; and by her ungodly and dishonorable 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 231 

proceeding to a pretended marriage with him, sud- 
denly and immediately thereafter, it is most certain 
that she was privy to it and part of the aforenamed 
murder of the King her lawful husband, committed 
by the said James, sometime Earl of Bothwell, his 
complices and partakers." 

This harsh expression of opinion, tantamount to a 
condemnation, rendered Mary Stuart's captivity more 
stringent, although by Murray's orders she was treat- 
ed with respect and consideration. She was more 
closely watched, lest she should write to request the 
assistance of any foreign power, or should devise a 
plan for her escape with her friends in Scotland. She 
was able to write only while her keepers were at their 
meals or asleep, for the daughters of the castellan 
slept with her. The vigilance of Margaret Erskine, 
who watched her captive as a tigress watches the 
prey for her young, and the fidelity of keepers, were 
in vain. George Douglas, son of Margaret, was 
smitten with Mary's surpassing beauty, and his sympa- 
thies were awakened by her calamities. The magic 
which fell upon all hearts from the azure eye, and 
wondrous fascination of her graceful person, made the 
Douglas a creature of ner will. He resolved to ob- 
tain her liberty, and her hand. Disguising the pris- 
oner in the apparel of a laundress, who frequented the 
castle, he led her unsuspected to the margin of the 
lake. The boat glided away from the shore, and 
Mary's heart throbbed with the anticipation of free- 
dom. Eriends were on the opposite side of the calm 
waters, awaiting the bark. One of the oarsmen sud- 



232 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

denly suspecting the disguise, approached the Queen, 
and pleasantly began to lift the veil. The impulsive 
and strrtled Mary, extending her white hand to pre- 
vent the view of her face, revealed, in the delicate and 
snowy signal, the dreaded majesty of the dethroned 
sovereign. She assumed the bolder tone of authority, 
and commanded the boatmen to proceed. But they 
feared the Laird of Lochleven more than the anger 
of a royal captive, and returned without delay to the 
castle. Mary entered her tower in bitter disappoint- 
ment and grief. This was on the 25th of March, 1568. 
She wrote to Catherine de Medici, "J have with great 
difficulty dispatched the bearer of this to inform you 
of my misery, and entreat you to have pity upon me.' 7 
May 1st, she addressed Elizabeth in similar but more 
pathetic and supplicating terms, and renewed her ap- 
peals to the court of France. 

George Douglas, the lover, was not idle. He had 
continued in the neighborhood of Lochleven, and 
mused day and night upon plans for the escape 
of the Queen. He resolved upon another exper- 
iment, May 2d, which was Sunday. Communi- 
cating with Mary, Lord Sejj)n and the Hamiltons, 
through a page, sixteen years of age, called the " Little 
Douglas," he had well and successfully arranged the 
plot. Seaton and others were to receive the prisoner 
at the castle gates. At the hour of meals, the doors 
of the fortress were all shut, and the keys laid beside 
the castellan.* "When the appointed occasion arrived, 

* Governor of the castle. 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 233 

the page placed the plate before the Laird, and, drop- 
ping his napkin over the keys, bore them unobserved 
away. He hastened to Mary, who, attired in a ser- 
vant's dress, followed him through the gate, which 
was locked behind them, to prevent pursuit. They 
then stepped into a boat, and removing the fastening, 
rowed arrow-like across Lochleven. As the bark 
touched the beach, George Douglas and Lord Seton, 
who had been secreted in an adjacent village, met the 
smiling, hopeful Queen. Vaulting lightly to the sad- 
dle of her horse, she dashed off towards Widdry Cas- 
tle, in "West Lothian, the seat of Seton. Eesting a 
few hours, she journeyed forward to the strong for-. 
tress of Hamilton, and was met by Lord Claud Ham- 
ilton* with a company of fifty horsemen. Upon her 
arrival, she was received with the salutations of the 
Archbishop of St. Andrews. Mary Stuart now pre- 
pared to assert her right to the throne of Bruce, with 
arms. She sent Beaton, brother of the Archbishop 
of Glasgow, to France, to crave assistance in the 
coming struggle, and dispatched a messenger to 
Dunbar, anticipating the surrender of the castle to 
her command. 

The tidings of her deliverance flew like the morn- 
ing light, and the friends of former days, who had 
continued loyal, with the forgiving and the disaffected 
toward Murray, thronged around her to offer their 
love and lives to the beautiful Queen of Scotland. 
About forty bishops, earls and lords, and a hundred 
barons, signed a league to place again the sceptre in 
her hand. In the presence of her council, she revoked 



234 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

lier abdication, declared Murray a traitor, and fonnd 
herself, in a brief period, at the bead of a force of six 
thousand men. 

The ambassador of Charles IX., of France, sought 
her camp, and recognized her as the rightful sovereign 
of the realm ; and Elizabeth offered aid to re-establish 
her authority, if she would have nothing to do with 
foreign assistance. Mary's situation was extremely 
perilous, because if she triumphed on the field, the 
Hamiltons would urge with resistless power the mar- 
riage of a member of their family ; if she lost the 
battle she would be at the mercy of Murray. With 
prudent policy, she forwarded to the regent proposals 
of reconciliation between the two parties. He was 
at Glasgow, holding a court of justice, guarded on*y by 
his suite, when he heard of his sister's safe arrival at 
Hamilton Castle, eight miles from his judicial hall. 
Never did the heroism of his character, the Puritan 
texture, appear more sublimely. Instead of flying 
for recruits as advised to do, he remained, without be- 
traying the shadow of a fear upon his bold heart, and 
won both the greater admiration, and the more deter- 
mined adherence of his followers. Requesting time 
to consider the overtures of the Queen, he addressed 
himself to the raising of an army, which should decide 
in sanguinary conflict, if necessary, to whom the crown 
of Scotland belonged. His rapid, yet calm and well 
arranged plan of operations, inspired his partisans 
with courage, and drew to his standard the Presbyte- 
rian soldiery. Edinburgh gave him four hundred 
hackbutters ; Glasgow offered her strength ; and 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 235 

Dunbar Castle repelled Mary's demand, and contin- 
ued true to the regent. The Earl of Mar hurried to the 
camp the trained men and heavy ordnance of Stirling ; 
from the Merse country, the chivalrous and brave 
Alexander Hume brought six hundred lances ; under 
the active, earnest Morton, the impetuous Glencairn, 
and the venerable Laird of Grange, recruits streamed 
in from valley and hill-side, till four thousand strong 
and fearless men stood around the reliable Murray, 
waiting his command. "With something of Napo- 
leon's tactics, he directed an immediate attack on the 
ranks of the Queen, before additional volunteers in- 
creased her prosjject of victory. Though Mary pre- 
ferred greater security of position, the Hamilton's 
were confident of conquest, and anxious for battle. 
They yielded so far to her influence, as to march to- 
wards Dumbarton Castle, an almost impregnable for- 
tress, with the determination to fight if pursued — an 
unfortunate course, exposing their rear to the foe, and 
hazarding the chances of an engagement, while in 
retreat. The Queen's army had to pass from the left 
bank of the Clyde to the south of Glasgow, where 
Murray had entrenched a large body of troops, to 
guard the road. The veteran Laird of Grange, ac- 
cording to his own advice, occupied the heights of 
Langside, with the main forces, and placed in ambush 
a company of hackbutters, beside a lane through 
which the hostile regiments must march to reach the 
hill. This path was through a defile, intersected with 
hedges, and divided into plantations, with their dwel- 
lings and foliage. The Queen's cavalry, though vastly 



236 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

outnumbering that of Murray, could not fight with 
advantage there, and the infantry, confined and em- 
barrassed, would be quickly subdued. The Hamil- 
tons, two thousand strong, entered the defile with the 
step of warriors who saw through the smoke of con- 
flict, victory folding her wings on their standard, 
when, like a storm of hail from a viewless cloud, a 
wasting fire was poured from the ambush upon that 
astonished vanguard. Confusion followed, and the liv- 
ing men pressed up the declivity, exhausted and scathed 
by the discharges of the unseen foe. Upon the summit 
they were met with Murray's welcome of pikemen, who 
rushed to the combat with desperate valor. The 
Laird of Grange swept from one wavering line to an- 
other, to reinforce and reanimate ; Morton, with math- 
ematical coolness and precision, made havoc ; Hume 
dashed with a tempestuous and daring onset upon 
the ranks of the enemy, while Murray made a bril- 
liant and decisive charge with his resistless columns, 
on the reeling host of Mary, and the field was won. 
The triumph gained in three-quarters of an hour, was 
so complete, that only three hundred of the Queen's 
army were left dead on the silent eminence ; ten pieces 
of brass cannon were taken, and a large number of 
prisoners, among whom were distinguished nobles. 
Mary Stuart had watched from a distant elevation the 
arena of battle, where her throne was the contested 
prize. Her ambitious heart throbbed with the ex- 
citement of hope, while her battalions moved through 
the leaden hail to the summit of Langside ; that heart 
was tossed with conflicting emotions, as the carnage 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 237 

* 

deepened, and sank with despair when Murray swept 
down npon the wavering ranks. Descending with 
haste to the plain, she mounted her horse, and attend- 
ed by a few servants, rode in a wild gallop towards 
Dumfries, neither halting or slackening speed till 
sixty miles lay between her and the scene of hopeless 
defeat. At Dundrennan Abbey, she gazed a moment 
on the waters, and chose a bark for England, instead of 
a home in France. Relying upon the repeated assu- 
rances of Elizabeth's kindness, she resolved to cast 
herself upon the mercy of the Queen, to whom she 
wrote as follows : 

" My very dear sister, without giving you a narra- 
tive of all my misfortunes, since they must be known 
to you already, I will tell you that those of my sub- 
jects whom I have most benefitted, and who were 
under the greatest obligations to me, after having 
revolted against me, kept me in prison, and treated 
me with the utmost indignity, have at last entirely 
driven me from my kingdom, and reduced me to such 
a condition that, after God, I have no hope in any 
one but you." 

Lord Herries, who was with Mary, sent a request to 
the deputy governor of Carlisle for permission to enter 
the city ; but before an answer could arrive, the fugi- 
tive Queen rashly crossed the Solway Erith, in a fish- 
erman's boat, and May 16th, landed at Worthington, 
on the Cumberland coast. She immediately addressed 
Elizabeth : 



238 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO QUEEN ELIZABETH. 

" Madam my good sister, I believe you are not igno- 
rant how long certain of my subjects, whom from 
the least of my kingdom I have raised to be the first, 
have taken upon themselves to involve me in trouble, 
and to do what it appears they had in view from the 
first. You know how they purposed to seize me and 
the late Xing my husband, from which attempt it 
pleased God to protect us, and to permit us to expel 
them from the country, where, at your request, I 
again afterward received them ; though, on their re- 
turn they committed another crime, that of holding 
me a prisoner, and killing in my presence a servant 
of mine, I being at the time in a state of pregnancy. 
It again pleased God that I should save myself from 
their hands ; and, as above said, I not only pardoned 
them, but even received them into favor. They, how- 
ever, not yet satisfied with so many acts of kindness, 
have, on the contrary, in spite of their promises, de- 
vised, favored, subscribed to, and aided in a crime, for 
the purpose of charging it falsely upon me, as I hope 
fully to make you understand. They have, under this 
pretence, arrayed themselves against me, accusing me 
of being ill advised, and pretending a desire of seeing 
me delivered from bad counsels, in order to point out 
to me the things that required reformation. I, feeling 
myself innocent, and desirous to avoid the shedding 
of blood, placed myself in their hands, wishing to re- 
form what was amiss. They immediately seized and 
imprisoned me. When I upbraided them with a 
breach of their promise, and requested to be inform- 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 239 

ed why I was thus treated, they all absented them- 
selves. I demanded to be heard in council, which 
was refused me. In short, they have kept me with- 
out any servant, except two women — a cook and a 
surgeon ; and they have threatened to kill me, if I 
did not sign an abdication of my crown, which the 
fear of , immediate death caused me to do, as I have 
since proved before the whole of the nobility, of 
which I hope to afford you evidence. 

■" After this, they again laid hold of me in Parlia- 
ment, without saying why, and without hearing me ; 
forbidding, at the same time, every advocate to plead 
for me, and compelling the rest to acquiesce in their 
unjust usurpation of my rights ; they have robbed me 
of everything I had in the world, never permitting 
me either to write or to speak, in order that I might 
not contradict their false inventions. 

" At lastj it pleased God to deliver me, when they 
thought of putting me to death, that they might 
make more sure of their power, though I repeatedly 
offered to answer anything they had to say to me, and 
to join them in the punishment of those who should 
be guilty of any crime. In short, it pleased God to 
deliver me, to the great content of all my subjects, 
except Murray, Morton, the Humes, Glen cairn, Mar, 
and Semple, to whom, after that my whole nobility 
was come from all parts, I sent to say that, notwith- 
standing their ingratitude and unjust cruelty employ- 
ed against me, I was willing to invite them to return 
to their duty, and to offer them security of their lives 
and estates, and to hold a Parliament for the purpose 



24:0 MARYQUEEN OF SCOTS. 

of reforming everything. I sent twice. They seized 
and imprisoned my messengers, and made proclama- 
tion, declaring traitors all those who should assist me, 
and gnilty of that odious crime. I demanded that 
they should name one of them, and I would give him 
up, and begged them, at the same time, to deliver to 
me such as should be named to them. They seized 
upon my officer and my proclamation. I sent to de- 
mand a safe conduct to my Lord Boyd, in order to 
treat of accommodation, not wishing, as far as I might 
be concerned, for any effusion of blood. They re- 
fused, saying that those who had not been true to 
their regent and to my son, whom they denominate 
king, should leave me, and put themselves at their 
disposal — a thing at which the whole nobility were 
greatly offended. 

" Seeing, therefore, that they were only a few indi- 
viduals, and that my nobility were more attached to 
me than ever, I was in hope that, in course of time, 
and under your favor, they would be gradually re- 
duced ; and, seeing that they said they would either 
retake all or die, I proceeded towards Dumbarton, 
passing at the distance of two miles from them, my 
nobility accompanying me, marching in order of bat- 
tle between them and me ; which they seeing, sallied 
forth, and came to cut off my way and take me. My 
people seeing this, and moved by that extreme malice 
of my enemies, with a view to check their progress, 
encountered them without order, so that, though they 
were twice their number, their sudden advance caus- 
ed them so great a disadvantage, that God permitted 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 241 

them to be discomfited, and several killed and taken ; 
some of them were cruelly killed when taken on their 
retreat. The pursuit was immediately interrupted, 
in order to take me on my way to Dumbarton ; they 
stationed people in every direction, either to kill or 
take me. But God, through his infinite goodness, has 
preserved me, and I escaped to my Lord Hemes', 
who, as well as other gentlemen, have come with me 
into your country, being assured that, hearing the 
cruelty of my enemies, and how they have treated 
me, you will, conformably to your kind disposition, 
and the confidence I have in you, not only receive for 
the safety of my life, but also aid and assist me in my 
just quarrel, and I shall solicit other princes to do the 
same. I entreat you to send to fetch me as soon as 
you possibly can, for I am in a pitiable condition, not 
only for a Queen, but for a gentlewoman : for I have 
nothing in the world but what I had on my person 
when I made my escape, traveling across the country 
the first day, and not having since ever ventured to 
proceed, except in the night, as I hope to declare be- 
fore you, if it pleases you to have pity, as I trust you 
will, upon my extreme misfortune ; of which I will 
forbear complaining, in order not to importune you, 
and pray to God that he may give to you a happy 
state of health and long life, and to me patience, and 
that consolation which I expect to receive from you, 
to whom I present my humble commendations. 
From "Workinton, the 17th of May. 

." Your most faithful and affectionate good sister, 
and cousin, and escaped prisoner, Mart R." 

K 16 



242 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

Elizabeth read this affecting plea of her rival with 
deep and contending emotions. The inquiries which 
enlisted her thought and tried her sympathies, were, 
whether she should send Mary hack to Scotland with 
a conquering army, give her a home in England, or 
to permit her to return to France. Danger environ- 
ed each of these possible plans of meeting the extrem- 
ity of a fallen Queen. Again on the throne, she might 
overthrow the Protestant faith, and renew her pre- 
tentions to the crown of England. If she remained 
on British soil, there would be the opportunity for 
intrigues and conspiracies with the Catholics. Should 
Mary retire to France, the Guises and court of that 
papal kingdom might give her fearful strength to 
awaken the tumult of sanguinary conflicts, political 
and religious. 

May 28th, another letter was addressed to the doubt- 
ing and suspicious Elizabeth, imploring mercy. 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO QUEEN ELIZABETH. 

" Madam, my good sister, I have received two letters 
from you, the first of which, relating to myself, I hope 
to answer, and to learn from my Lord Scrop, and your 
vice-chamberlain, your natural inclination toward me, 
which I have always promised myself with certainty, 
and wish that my affection for you were as apparent 
as it is sincere, and then you would think your kind- 
ness better bestowed, than I could persuade you by 
my humble 

" Madam, I am sorry that the haste in which I wrote 
my last letter, caused me to omit, as I perceive by 



MAKY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 243 

yours, the principal thing which induced me to write 
to you, and which is also the principal cause of my 
coming into this kingdom, which is that, having for a 
long time been a prisoner, and, as I have already in- 
formed you, being unjustly treated, as well by their 
acts as by their false reports, I wished above all to lay 
my complaint before you, as well on account of our 
near relationship, equality of rank, and professed 
friendship, as to clear myself before you from those 
calumnious charges which they have dared to prefer 
against my honor, and also for the assurance I had 
that, above all things, you would consider that, not 
being punished for the crimes committed aforetime 
against me, which, at your request, I forgave these 
ungrateful subjects, and restored them to their former 
state, to the detriment and prejudice of mine, whence 
it is evident, that out of respect to you, I did what 
has caused my ruin, or at least very near it. . . „ 
With a view to repair the mischief, and to amend the 
error that has arisen from it, I have dispatched my 
Lord Herries, my faithful and well beloved subject, to 
inform you fully of these things, and others concern- 
ing which I learned from Messieurs Scrop and Knowles 
[Lord Scrope and Sir Francis Knollys] that you are 
in doubt, requesting you to believe him as myself, 
and forthwith to let me have your answer in writing, 
whether it would be agreeable to you if I were to 
come without delay and without ceremony to you,, 
and tell you more particularly the truth about all that 
has happened to me, in contradiction to all their lies, 
which I am sure you would have pleasure to hear, as 



244 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

you have pleased to write me in your letters, that you 
Gould take my justification in your own hands till you 
have replaced me in the state to which Heaven had 
pleased to call me, and that all princes are bound to 
support and assist one another. 

" I send, on this occasion, my cousin, my Lord Flem- 
in, a faithful subject, in order that, being assured by 
you, he may proceed to France to thank the king, 
monsieur, my good brother, for his .... and 
good offices, whioh* I reserve for another time, if I 
have occasion for them, contenting myself with your 
aid and support, which I shall feel myself obliged to 
acknowledge as long as I live, in every way in my 
power. If, on the contrary, that which I reckon up- 
on does not come from you, and from some others, for 
considerations which I am not aware of, at least I 
trust that, freely as I came to throw myself into your 
arms, as my best friend, you will permit me, in your 
refusal, to seek succor from other princes and friends, 
my allies, as may seem most convenient to me, with- 
out any prejudice to the eminent friendship between 
us two ; and whatever you decide will please you, I 
shall be satisfied with, though one would have been 
more agreeable to me than the other ; for, God be 
thanked, I have got good friends and neighbors in 
my so just quarrel ; and there is nothing to prevent 
me from applying to them but this detention, which, 
to speak freely to you as you do to me, I think rather 
harsh and strange, considering that I came so frankly 
into your country without any condition, or any dis- 
trust of your friendship, promised in your frequent 



MARY QUEEN" OF SCOTS. 245 

letters ; and though I have lived in a manner a pris- 
oner in your castle for a fortnight, since the arrival 
of your counsellors, I have not obtained permission 
to go to you to plead my cause, as my confidence in 
you was such that I asked for nothing more than to 
go to you to make you acquainted with my grievances. 

" Now I besech you to consider how important my 
long detention is to me, and for the cause of my ruin, 
which, thank God, is not gaining ground. Signify 
then to me the consent of your natural affection for 
your good sister, and cousin, and firm friend. Ke- 
member that I have kept my promise. I send you 

m y in a ring, and I have brought 

you the signal, in order to tie the knot more firmly ; 
if you are not disposed to wrong me . . . whom 
you may believe as you would myself. After this 
long address, I shall not trouble you further than to 
present my affection and recommendations to your 
good grace, and to pray Gocl to grant you, madam, 
health, and a long and happy life. 

" Your very faithful and 

"Karlil, the 2Sth of May, 1568." 

Whatever were the transient impulses of compas- 
sion excited by this plaintive plea, Elizabeth adhered 
to her policy, and secretly decided to keep Mary 
Stuart in her own hands. As preliminary to the ulti- 
mate purpose, and to prepare the way, she gave the 
captive a royal journey from Workington to Carlisle, 
and lavished upon her the honors due to a Queen. 
After the pageantry of Mary's entry into the city 



24:6 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

was over, she was surrounded with spies, and guarded 
by soldiery. Elizabeth dispatched letters of condo- 
lence, but refused to see her until she had proved 
herself innocent of Darnley's murder. The following 
passage is from the report of Lord Scrope and Sir 
Francis Knollys, warden and vice-chamberlain of the 
border, to Elizabeth, after the interview of May 28th : 

" We found her in her answers to have an eloquent 
tongue and a discreet head ; and it seemeth by her 
doings, that she hath stout courage and liberal heart 
adjoined thereunto ; and, after our delivery of your 
highness's letters, she fell into some passion, with the 
water in her eyes, and therewith, she drew us with 
her into her bed-chamber, where she complained unto 
us, for that your highness did not meet her expecta- 
tions, for the admitting her into your presence forth- 
with ; that upon good declaration of her innocence, 
your highness would either without delay give her 
aid yourself, to the subduing her enemies, or else, 
being now come of good will, and not of necessity 
into your hands (for a good and greatest part of her 
subjects, said she, remain fast to her still) your high- 
ness would, at least, forthwith give her passage 
through your country in to France, to seek aid at other 
princes' hands ; not doubting, but both the French 
king, and the king of Spain, would give her relief to 
her satisfaction. And here she fell into discourses, 
that the cause of the war and disobedient treasons of 
these her subjects, was thereby to keep that which 
she had too liberally given them by violence ; since, 



MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 247 

through her revocation whereof, when of full age, 
they could not enjoy the same bylaw; and withal 
(she affirmed) that both Lethington and the Lord 
Morton were assisting to the murder of her husband." 

Lord Hemes was now sent to London to negotiate 
a loan upon the Queen's credit as dowager of France, 
with which to sustain the cause of her partizans in 
Scotland. Retaining Dumbarton Castle, they were 
strong and unyielding. Murray was unsparing and 
persevering in his efforts to subdue them, but failed 
to exterminate the reanimated foe. Lord Fleming 
was chosen to represent Mary's cause in France, with 
most pathetic messages to Charles IX., Catherine and 
the Cardinal of Lorraine. " She besought the French 
court to deliver her from her unfortunate position by 
sending two thousand infantry to the relief of Dum- 
barton ; by furnishing the money and accoutrements 
necessary for the equipment and maintenance of five 
hundred horse-soldiers ; by sending artillery and am- 
munition to enable her .to recover the other fortresses 
of Scotland ; and by bestowing the order of St. Mi- 
chael on two or three of those noblemen who had 
especially distinguished themselves by their valor and 
devotion to her cause, in order to encourage the oth- 
ers, and confirm them in their fidelity." Seizing upon 
Mary's offer to establish her innocence, Elizabeth 
determined upon a formal trial of the prisoner. Mur- 
ray urged it, with extravagant promises to furnish 
overwhelming evidence of his sister's guilt. 

After some delay, Lords Herries and Fleming, who 



248 MAKY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 

had reached London, were admitted into the presence 
of the politic and ascendant "Virgin Queen," at 
whose tribunal of justice never was arraigned a crim- 
inal of so manifold gifts and honors, and around whom 
gathered an interest extensive as regal sway. The 
envoys advocated zealously the claims of Mary. 
Elizabeth replied : 

" But her subjects have disseminated throughout the 
world a scandalous and disgraceful report, of which 
she is well aware ; her honor and mine require that 
the matter should be looked into — not that I should 
constitute myself her judge, but that I should inquire 
of her accusers what cause they have to speak thus 
of her, and by what right they have seized her person, 
her crown, her fortresses, and all her property, in doing 
which they cannot be excusable." "But, madam," said 
Lord Herries, "if it should appear to be otherwise, 
which God forbid ?" " Even then, I would not fail to 
arrange with her subjects, in the best and most careful 
manner possible, so as to secure her honor and provide 
for their safety." "When, however, Herries requested 
that his mistress might be allowed to withdraw to the 
continent, or at all events, to return to Scotland in 
the little boat which had brought her over to Eng- 
land, Elizabeth absolutely refused. " As for the pas- 
sage of my good sister into France, I will not prove 
myself so imprudent as to permit it, and be thus held 
in low esteem among other princes. When she was 
there before, the King, her husband, assumed for her 
the title and arms belonging to my crown, though I 
was then alive ; and I will not place myself again in 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 249 

such embarrassing circumstances As for 

her return into Scotland in the humble conveyance 
which you have mentioned, since she has come into 
my country, it would be neither to her honor nor to 
mine for her to go back ; and besides, it would not be 
to her advantage to do so." 

Accordingly, Elizabeth dispatched an ambassador 
to Murray, then leading an army of six thousand men 
against the heroic friends of Mary Stuart, and de- 
manded a truce, until she had decided the right to 
the crown of Scotland, and the criminality of the con- 
tending parties. She rebuked the regent for the 
daring deeds which gained his elevation, and seemed 
anxious to inspire Mary with hope ; either because 
she felt the promptings of pity, or to make surer work 
of securing her victim; that Elizabeth was not alto- 
gether demoniac in these complicated interests at 
stake, is clear. In this strain she addressed Murray : 

" All these things cannot but sound very strange in 
the ears of us, being a prince sovereign, having do- 
minions and subjects committed to our power, as she 
had. For remedy whereof she requireth our aid, as 
her next cousin and neighbor ; and for justification 
of her whole cause, is content to commit the hearing 
and ordering of the same simply to us. We have 
thought good and necessary, not only to impart thus 
much unto you, wherewith she chargeth you, and oth- 
ers joined with you, but also to require and advise you 
utterly to forbear from all manner of hostilitv and 
K* 



250 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

persecution against all such as have lately taken part 
with the said Queen, and to suspend all manner of 
actions and proceedings against them, both by law and 
arms, and to impart unto us plainly and sufficiently 
all that which shall be meet to inform us of the truth, 
for your defence, in such weighty crimes and causes 
as the said Queen hath already or shall hereafter ob- 
ject against you, contrary to the duty of natural born 
subjects ; so that we, being duly informed on all parts, 
may, by the assistance of God's grace, direct our 
actions and orders principally to his glory, and next 
to the conservation of our own honor in the sight of 
all other princes, and finally to the maintenance and 
increase of peace and concord betwixt both these two 
realms." 

Middlemore, the plenipotentiary to Mary, delivered 
his message in the presence of Scrope and Knollys ; 
the burden of which was the reiterated determination 
of Elizabeth not to receive her rival, until acquitted 
of participation in the recent regicide. When allu- 
sion was made to the judgment of the Queen of Eng- 
land, and a trials Mary Stuart's passion was aroused, 
and she answered indignantly : "I have no other 
judge but God, neither can any take upon themselves 
to judge me. Of my own free will, indeed, and ac- 
cording to the good trust I reposed in the Queen, my 
sister, I offered to make her the judge of my cause. 
But how can that be, when she will not suffer me to 
come to her." 

Mary demanded an interview with Elizabeth, or 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 251 

permission to depart with or without assistance, and 
again imploringly wrote to the unrelenting arbiter of 
her fate. 

THE QUEEN OP SCOTS TO QUEEN ELIZABETH. 

" Madam, my good sister — I thank you for the dispo- 
sition which you have to listen to the justification of 
my honor, which ought to be a matter of importance 
to all princes, and especially to you, as I have the 
honor to be so near of kin to you. But it seems to 
me, that those who persuade you that my reception 
would turn to your dishonor, manifest the contrary. 
But, alas, madam, when did you ever hear a prince 
censured for listening in person to the grievances of 
those who complain that they have been falsely ac- 
cused. Dismiss, madam, from your mind, the idea 
that I came hither to save my life ; neither the world 
nor all Scotland has cast me out ; but to recover my 
honor, and to obtain support to enable me to chastise 
my false accusers, not to answer them as their equal, 
for I know that they ought not to enter into engage- 
ments against their sovereign, but to accuse them be- 
fore you, that I have chosen you from among all other 
princes, as my nearest kinswoman and perfect friend ; 
doing as if I supposed it to be an honor to be called 
the queen-restorer, who hoped to receive this kindness 
from you, giving you the honor and the glory all my 
life, making you also thoroughly acquainted with my 
innocence, and how falsely I have been led. 

" I see, to my great regret, that I am mistaken. 
You say that you are counseled by persons of high 



252 MARY QI7EEN OF SCOTS. 

rank to be guarded in this affair. God forbid that I 
should be cause of dishonor to you, when it was my 
intention to seek the contrary ! Wherefore, if you 
please, as my affairs require such great haste, let me 
see if the other princes will act in the same manner, 
and then you cannot be blamed. Permit me to see 
those w r ho will support me without any apprehension 
of that sort, and take what security you will of me 
when I shall afterward place myself again in your 
hands. Though I think you would not desire that, 
when replaced on my throne, my honors restored, and 
all foreigners out of the country, I shall come to plead 
my cause before you, and to justify myself for the 
sake of my honor and of the friendship which I bare 
you, and not for the satisfaction I should have in an- 
swering false subjects ; or even sending for me with- 
out giving credit, as it seems you do, to those who 
are not worthy of it. Grant me your favor and as- 
sistance first, and then you shall see whether I am 
worthy. If you find that I am not, and that my 
demands are unjust, or to your prejudice, or contrary 
to your honor, it will then be time to get rid of me, 
and to let me seek my fortune without troubling you. 
For, being innocent, as thank God I know I am, are 
you not doing me wrong to keep me here, on getting 
out of one prison as it were in another, encouraging 
my false enemies to persevere in their lying ways, 
and disheartening my friends by delaying the assist- 
ance promised them from other quarters, if I wished 
to employ it ? I have all the good men on my side, 
and my detention may bring ruin upon them, or cause 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 2o3 

them to change their sentiments, and then there will 
be a new conquest to make. For your sake, I par- 
doned those who are at this moment seeking my ruin ; 
of which I can accuse you before God, and . . . 

further delay will undo me Excuse me, 

it is to me a matter of the utmost importance. I 
must speak to you without dissimulation. You have 
admitted into your presence a bastard brother of mine, 
who fled from me, and you refuse me the favor, and 
I feel assured, that the juster my cause the longer it 
will be delayed ; for it is the remedy of a bad cause 
to stop the mouths of its adversaries ; besides, I know 
that John Wood was commissioned to procure this 
detention, as their most certain remedy in an unjust 
quarrel and usurpation of authority. 

u Wherefore, I beseech you, assist me, binding me 
to you in everything, or be neuter. And permit me 
to try what I can do elsewhere, otherwise, by delay- 
ing matters, you will injure me more than my very 
enemies. If you are afraid of blame, at least, for the 
confidence that I have placed in you, do nothing eith- 
er for or against me, that you do and see that I would 
do for my honor, being at liberty. For here I neither 
can nor will answer their false accusations, though 
out of friendship and for my pleasure, I would cheer- 
fully justify myself to you, but not in the form of a 
trial with my subjects, if they bark at me with my 
hands tied. Madam, they and I are not companions 
in anything ; and if I were to be kept here still lon- 
ger, I would rather die than make myself such. 

" Now, speaking as your good sister, let me beseech 



254: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

you, for the sake of your honor, without further delay, 
to send back my Lord Hemes, with the assurance 
that you will assist me, as he has requested you in my 
name : for I have no answer either from you or from 
him, nor your license as above. I beseech you, also, 
since I am come to place myself in your hands, in 
which I have been Retained so long without having 
any certainty, to order my Lord Scrope to allow my 
subjects to have access, if only one, two, or three, to 
come and return, and to bring me intelligence about 
my subjects, otherwise it would be condemning me 
and my defenders. God grant that you may listen 
to what I have intended to say to you briefly ; I should 
not have troubled you at such length, though I do not 
blame you in the least for these underhand practices 
against me ; but I hope, notwithstanding all their 
fair offices and falsely colored speeches, that you will 
find me a more profitable friend than they can be to 
you. I shall say nothing particular but by word of 
mouth. Wherefore, I shall conclude with my hum- 
ble commendations to your good grace, praying God 
to grant you, madam my good sister, health, and a 
long and very happy life. 

"From Carlil, the xiii of June, 15G8. 
" Your good sister and cousin, 

" Mary K." 

The kings of Europ< ;re increasingly interested 

spectators of the apr dng crisis in the history of 

a sovereign, whose :y would be an example to 

future monarchs. \ h >ueen, whose extraordinary 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 255 

power of beauty and genius won triumphs, had been 
watched from thrones more remote than Elizabeth's, 
who calmly gazed from her fastness, like a mountain 
eagle upon an invader of radiant plumage, till the 
feared and envied foe w T as bleeding within his talons. 
The crowned heads of half a continent saw the des- 
perate game, but occupied with insurrections at home, 
or commotions abroad, offered no interposition. Mont- 
morin, the envoy of Charles IX., of France, asked 
Elizabeth to deal kindly with Mary, and describes 
his visit to Carlisle : 

" The room which she occupies is gloomy, being 
lighted only by one casement, latticed with iron bars. 
You go to it through three other rooms, which are 
guarded and occupied by hackbutters. In the last of 
these, whigh forms the ante-chamber to the Queen's 
apartment, resides Lord Scrope, the governor of the 
border districts. The Queen has only three of her 
women with her. Her servants and domestics sleep 
out of the castle. The doors are not opened until ten 
o'clock in the morning. The Queen is allowed to go 
as far as the church in the town, but she is always 
accompanied by a hundred hackbutters. She re- 
quested Scrope to send her a priest to say mass; 
but he answered that theiv were no priests -in Eng- 
land." 

-v &** 

The cloud of despair settled :t:-wn between Mary 
and the throne of England, and %h& appealed to the 
Cardinal of Lorraine to save her sinking fortunes from 



256 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

complete ruin. Her words are subduing. " I entreat 
you to have pity on the honor of your poor niece, 
and to procure for me the support I need. Mean- 
while, I beseech you to send me some money ; for I 
have none wherewith to buy either food or clothing. 
The Queen of England has sent me a little linen, and 
supplies me with one dish. The rest I have borrowed, 
but I can get no more. You will share in this dis- 
grace. God is subjecting me to a hard trial ; never- 
theless, rest assured that I shall die a Catholic. God 
will quickly remove me from these miseries, for I 
have suffered insults, calumnies, imprisonment, hun- 
ger, cold, heat, flight, without knowing whither to 
go, for ninety-two miles across the country without 
stopping or dismounting, and then being obliged to 
sleep on the hard ground, and drink sour milk, and 
eat oatmeal without bread ; and at last I am come 
into this country, where, as a reward, I am nothing 
better than a prisoner ; and meanwhile the houses of 
my servants are pulled down, and I cannot assist 
them, and my servants themselves are hanged, and I 
cannot recompense them." 

]STo aid was extended, and the only alternative for 
Mary was to meet Murray in trial before the judicial 
bar of Elizabeth. She was more narrowly guarded, 
and the privy council of England " decided unani- 
mously that Queen Mary should be removed from the 
frontier to some place in the interior of the kingdom. 
They maintained, moreover, that in virtue of the 
ancient feudal superiority of the crown of England 
over that of Scotland — a superiority which had fre- 



MART QTJEEN OF SCOTS. 257 

qu entry been asserted by the one, and as frequently 
denied by the other — 'Queen Mary might be brought 
to trial ; that the wish which, she had expressed to be 
restored to her throne before her innocence had been 
proved, or else permitted to withdraw to France be- 
fore she had been tried, was equally opposed to the 
honor and safety of Elizabeth ; but that, after her 
cause and justification had been thoroughly examin- 
ed, she should be taken back to her kingdom and re- 
stored to her authority." 

July 6th, 1568, she wrote once more from Carlisle 
to Elizabeth, repeating her condemnation of " the 
rebels," complaining of additional restraint, and closes 
with this eloquent passage : 

" Good sister, be of another mind. Even the heart 
and all shall be yours, and at your commandment. I 
thought to have satisfied you wholly, if I might have 
seen you. Alas ! do not as the serpent that stoppeth 
his hearing, for I am no enchanter, but your sister 
and natural cousin. If Caesar had not disdained to 
hear or read the complaint of an advertiser, he had not 
so died. Why should princes' ears be stopped, seeing 
they are painted so long ; meaning that they should 
hear all, and be well advised before they answer. I 
am not of the nature of the basilisk, and less of the 
chameleon's, to turn you to my likeness ; and though 
I should be so dangerous and curst as men say, you 
are sufficiently armed with constancy and with jus- 
tice, which I require of God, who give you grace to 

use it well, with long and happy life." 

11 



258 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

Under a military escort, Mary Stuart was removed 
to the Castle of Bolton, in Yorkshire, a fortress in the 
possession of Lord Scrope. Promising an impartial 
investigation of her affairs, Elizabeth required her to 
renounce entirely the claim to the succession in Eng- 
land during the life of herself or issue ; and also to 
break the league with France, and adopt in religious 
worship the forms of common prayer. Mary at 
length yielded so far to the pressure of events, that 
she consented to the appointment of commissioners to 
arbitrate and settle honorably the pending and mo- 
mentous questions of royalty. The Queen of Eng- 
land expressed her bias and prospective action, in a 
communication addressed to Murray the 20th of Sep- 
tember : 

" Whereas we hear say, that certain reports are 
made in sundry parts of Scotland, that whatsoever 
should fall out now upon the hearing of the Queen of 
Scots' cause, in any proof to convince or acquit the 
said Queen concerning the horrible murder of her 
late husband our cousin, we have determined to re- 
store her to her kingdom and government, we do so 
much mislike hereof, as we cannot endure the same 
to receive any credit ; and therefore we have thought 
good to assure you, that the same is untruly devised 
by the authors to our dishonor. For as we have been 
always certified from our said sister, both by her let- 
ters and messages, that she is by no means guilty or 
participant of that murder, (which we wish to be true,) 
so surely if she should be found justly to be guilty 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. ^50 

thereof, as hath been reported of her, (whereof we 
would be very sorry,) then, indeed, it should behoove 
us to consider otherwise of her cause than to satisfy 
her desire in restitution of her to the government of 
that kingdom. And so we would have you and all 
others think, that should be disposed to conceive hon- 
orably of us and our actions." 

"War ceased in Scotland, and the regent made pre- 
parations to confront his sister and former sovereign. 
Mary chose for the occasion, to represent her cause, 
Lesley, the Bishop of Ross, Lords Herries, Boyd and 
Livingston, Sir John Gordon, of Lochinvar, and Sir 
James Cockburn, of Stirling. Murray appeared with 
Earl of Morton, the Protestant Bishop of Orkney, 
Lord Lindsay, and Robert Pitcairn, with Buchanan 
and others as assistants. Elizabeth selected Duke of 
Norfolk, the Earl of Sussex and Sir Ralph Sadler. 

Lethington, who was involved in the King's mur- 
der, and who had always retained an attachment to 
Mary, endeavored to avert the public inquiry, to 
which she had given her assent. He felt that dishon- 
or to her would be a result, and forwarded the letters 
in the silver casket to the captive, desiring to know 
how he might serve her in the approaching emergen- 
cy. She requested Lethington to soften the severity 
of Murray's accusations, and secure the influence of 
the illustrious Duke of Norfolk. The noble Howard 
wielded a controlling influence in the privy council, 
and over the kingdom. The third time a widower, 
he secretly aspired to the hand of Mary Stuart. 



2G0 MARY QJTEEN OF SCOTS. 

Norfolk immediately united his power to Lething- 
ton's efforts to stay proceedings. In an interview 
with that disloyal and pliant secretary, he began his 
mediation with a plan of reconciliation between the 
regent and his exiled sister. He thus reprovingly 
addressed Lethington : 

" Is England judge over the princes of Scotland ? 
How could we find it in our hearts to dishonor the 
mother of our future king ? or how could we answer 
afterwards for what we had done, seeing that, by 
bringing his mother's honesty in question, we jeop- 
ardize his right to the crown of England. It had 
been rather the duty of you, his subjects, to cover her 
imperfections, if she had any, leaving her punishment 
unto God, who is the only judge over princes." 

Lethington endorsed these opinions, and arranged 
a meeting of Murray with Norfolk, which occurred at 
night, in the solitary gallery of the dwelling of the 
duke. The effect of the duke's reasoning, on the evils 
which would inevitably attend a public defamation 
of the Queen, while nothing but great imprudence on 
the part of her accusers could prevent her ultimate 
possession of the crown of England, was deep and in- 
fluential upon the discriminating mind of Murray. 
The regent affirmed, however, that the contents of the 
casket could not be suppressed — the Queen did not 
deny their origin, and many had already seen them. 
Norfolk persuaded him not to use them as evidence, 
and wisely added : 

" You are grievously deceived, if you imagine the 
Queen of England will ever pronounce sentence in 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 261 

this cause. Do you not see that no answers have 
been returned to the questions which, upon this point, 
were addressed by you to us, and forwarded to the 
Queen ? Nay, you can easily put the matter to a 
more certain proof. Request an assurance, under the 
Queen's hand, that when you accuse your sovereign 
and bring forward your proofs, she will pronounce 
sentence. If you get it, act as you please — if it is 
not given, rest assured that my information is true, 
and take occasion thereupon to stay from further pro- 
ceedings." Murray decided to do no more than vin- 
dicate himself, without attacking Mary. 

During these private negotiations and plots — -the 
unfolding series of events in the life of a beautiful 
princess, whose far-reaching interest swept over 
many brave and cowardly hearts, both in the splendor 
and under the shadow of thrones — the prisoner wrote 
a letter to Elizabeth, embracing a summary of her. 
hopes, desires and fears : 

THE QUEEN OF SOOTS TO THE QUEEN OF SPAIN. 

" Madam, my good sister — I cannot describe to you 
the pleasure which I have derived, at so unfortunate 
a time for me, from your friendly and consoling let- 
ters, which seem as if sent by God to solace me amid 
so many troubles and adversities with which I am 
surrounded. I clearly perceive how much I am 
bound to praise God for our having been brought up, 
fortunately for me, together in our youth,* which is 

* Elizabeth, third wife of Philip II., of Spain, was the eldest 
daughter of the French King, Henry II., at whose court the Queen 
of Scots was brought up. 



262 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

the cause of our indissoluble friendship, proofs of 
which you give on your part. Alas ! what return 
can I make, unless by loving and honoring you, and, 
if I should ever have the means of serving you, as I 
have always wished to do, and shall as long as I live. 
" Do not blame me, my good sister, if I have not 
written to you — for I have been for eleven months 
imprisoned, and so strictly guarded, as not to have 
either the means to write, or any one to whom I could 
intrust my letters. After that, I was ten days in 
Scotland, and in a castle only five miles distant from 
my enemies. Since then, I lost the battle.* I was 
obliged to take refuge here, as I informed you by 
Montmorin. By the way, I kiss your hands for the 
regret which he told me you had expressed for my 
misfortunes. But to return to my subject. Don Guz- 
man can vouch for the impossibility, in my situation, 
either of sending a messenger, or even a letter, in 
safety ; for I am in the hands of people, who watch 
me so narrowly, that the most trifling circumstance 
would furnish them with an excuse for serving me a 
worse turn than detaining me against my will ; and 
but for this, I should long since have been in France. 
But she [Queen Elizabeth] has positively refused to 
allow me to go thither, and insists on directing my 
affairs, whether I will or not. I cannot give you here 
all the details, as they would be too long ; but I have 
ordered the brother of my ambassador in France, to 

* The battle of Langside, which induced Mary to seek refuge in 
England. 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 263 

acquaint the ambassador of the king, your lord, in 
London, with every particular, that he may write to 
you in cipher, otherwise it would be dangerous. 

" I will tell you one thing, by the way ; that if the 
kings, your lord and your brother, were at peace, my 
misfortune might be of service to Christendom. For 
my coming to this country has caused me to make 
acquaintance, by which I have learned so much of 
the state of things here, that if I had ever so little 
hope of succeeding elsewhere, I would make ours the 
reigning religion, or perish in the attempt.* The 
whole of this part is entirely devoted to the Catholic 
faith, and with the right that I have, for this reason, 
in my favor, I could easily teach this Queen what it 
is to intermeddle and assist subjects against princes. 
She is extremely jealous, lest this, and this only, should 
restore me to my country. But she tries, by all 
means, to make me appear guilty of what I have so 
unjustly been accused of, as you will perceive from a 
statement of all the intrigues which have been direct- 
ed against me ever since I was born, by those traitors 
to God and to me. It is not yet finished. Neverthe- 
less, I must tell you I have been offered many fine 
things to change my religion ; which I will never do. 
But if I am compelled to yield, in some points, which 
I have stated to your ambassador, you may judge that 

* This letter, written at the time when Mary was making such 
strong professions of implicit submission to Elizabeth, clearly shows 
what England might have expected, could Mary have got rid of its 
detested Protestant sovereign, although her " good sister," and mad© 
good her own claim to her throne. 



264 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

it will be because I am a prisoner. Now I assure 
you, and beseech you to assure the king, that I shall 
die in the Roman Catholic religion, whatever they 
may say to the contrary. I cannot exercise it here, 
because they will not permit me, and, merely for 
having spoken of it, they have threatened to shut me 
uj3 more closely, and to treat me with less consideration. 
" You have adverted to a subject in jest, which I 
mean to take in good earnest ; it is respecting the 
ladies, your daughters. Madam, I have also a son. 
I hope that if the king, and the king your brother, to 
whom I beg you to write in my behalf, will but send 
an embassy to this Queen, declaring to her that they 
do me the honor to rank me as their sister and ally, 
and that they are resolved to take me under their 
protection, requiring her at the same time, if she val- 
ues their friendship, to send me back to my kingdom, 
and to assist me to punish my rebels ; otherwise, they 
will themselves endeavor to do so, being assured that 
she will never take part with subjects against their 
sovereign ; she will not dare to refuse them, for she is 
herself in some fear of insurrections. For she is not 
greatly beloved by any one of the religions, while, 
God be praised, I believe I have gained the hearts of 
a great many good people of the country, since my 
coming, so that they are ready to hazard all they pos- 
sess, for me and my cause. If this were done, and 
some other necessary favors, which I have mentioned 
to your ambassador, being in my own country, and 
in friendship with this Queen, whom her people will 
not permit to see me, for fear I should lead her into a 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 265 

better track, (for they are of opinion that I should 
govern her if I studied to please her,) I might then 
hope to bring np my son in devotion to your interest ; 
and if it please G-od to be merciful to me, and, with 
your assistance, to gain for him that which belongs to 
us, I am sure that, if you grant him one of your 
daughters, whichsoever you please, he will be but too 
happy. They have almost made an offer to nat- 
uralize him ; and for the Queen to adopt him as her 
son. But I have no wish to give him up to them, and 
to resign my rights, the consequence of which would 
be to render him of their wretched religion. If I 
had my choice, I should much rather send him to you, 
and risk every danger to re-establish the ancient and 
good faith throughout this whole island. I beg you 
will keep this secret, for it might cost me my life ; yet 
whatever you hear, be assured that I shall never 
change my opinion, however I may be compelled to 
accommodate myself to circumstances. 

" I will not trouble you at present with a longer 
letter, but merely beseech you to write in my behalf. 
Should I and this Queen come to terms, I will write 
and inform you. But it is necessary that your am- 
bassador should be commanded to correspond with 
me in cipher, and to send some one to visit me at 
times, as my attendants dare not go to them. 

" I humbly recommend myself to your favor, pray- 
ing God to give you health and a long and happy 
life. I have much more to write to you, but I dare 
not ; I am in a fever about this. I beg you to send 
me some one, in your especial name, and one in whom 

L 



2G6 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

I can place confidence, so that I may make known to 
him all my intentions. From Bolton, this 24th Sep- 
tember, 1568. 

" Your very humble and obedient sister, 

" Mary." 

Mary Stuart contemplated the arraignment of the 
regent, but evidently did not anticipate for herself 
the position of a criminal before the appointed judges 
of her invaded prerogative. If she had maintained 
a prond refusal to answer to any charges preferred 
by her rebellious subjects, Elizabeth would not have 
been able to bring her to a tribunal ; and to continue 
her captivity, would have been a most difficult and 
dangerous undertaking. The submission of Mary to 
the arbitration of her rival, was not the least of the 
errors of her impulsive, ardent nature, whose con- 
quering loveliness of person, and ancient lineage of 
royalty, were made the delusive basis of undying 
hope. A rainbow arched every storm, to her vision, 
and she awaited, with the excitement of consuming 
anxiety and expectation of deliverance, the trial. 



CHAPTER VII. 

the conference letter of mart stuart to the king of spain the 

scotch commissioners withdraw murray accuses mart eliza- 
beth proposes to her prisoner a replt to the evidence mart 

refuses the queen of england writes to mart mart vindicates 

her course the conference closes mart stuart's letter to 

elizabeth the conflict of rotal determinations mart is re- 
moved to the castle of tutburt murrat's movements the 

duke of norfolk aspires to the hand of mart his designs dis- 
covered bt elizabeth mart is more closelt confined the duke 

is arrested mart writes to elizabeth insurrection murray 

is triumphant his assassination his character letters of 

mart negotiations with elizabeth conspiract it is detected 

— Norfolk's death and character — mart's condition. 

The conference was opened with, pomp and cere- 
mony, befitting a conrt representing two Queens, a 
regent, and the leading nobles of both England and 
Scotland. Mary Stuart's commissioners boldly as- 
serted her regal rights and honor — made a full and 
lucid statement of the successive shocks of revolution 
which had shaken the land of Bruce to its centre, 
and hurled their indignant condemnation upon the 
rebellious partizans of Murray. The regent offered 
his vindication with equal boldness. He described 
the impolitic measures and marriages of the Queen — 
the voluntary resignation of her crown — and her con- 



268. MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

sent to his acceptance of the regency from the enthu- 
siastic people. He passed over the charge of murder, 
which was to the masses the unpardonable sin of her 
reign, and which kindled the anger of Elizabeth more 
than any other error, excepting the claim to succession. 
The commissioners replied that the marriage with 
Bothwell was an unwilling submission to the wishes 
of the nobles. To this, Murray made no answer. 
Elizabeth was without excuse for delaying a personal 
interview with Mary. Murray improved the mo- 
ment, to test the success of a more fearful line of 
procedure. He inquired of the English commission- 
ers whether, if he proved the captive's guilt, she 
would be condemned, and he continued in his official 
station. He also sent a private messenger to Bolton, 
to ascertain if Mary would avoid the threatened dis- 
grace by confirming her abdication, and remaining 
in England with a royal income. He then exhibit- 
ed to the lords, representing Elizabeth, the letters 
of the silver casket. Lesley advised Mary to yield 
to the regent's propositions, to which she consented, 
October 13th. 

While matters were on the eve of an adjustment, 
which would secure Murray's authority and the fal- 
len Queen's honor, Elizabeth, who was apprized of 
the secret parley, interposed, and removed the court 
to Westminster, under her argns-eyed inspection. 

The conference opened November 25th. "After 
Mary's commissioners had read a protest in conformi- 
ty to the recent instructions they had received from 
their sovereign, the lord chancellor, who acted as 



MAS? QUE EH OF SCOTS. 269 

president of the conference, informed Murray that the 
defence he had made at York was considered incon- 
clusive : and, with a view to encourage the regent to 
speak more openly, he added: 'Her majesty prin- 
cipally wisheth that, upon the hearing of this great 
cause, the honor and estate of the Queen of Scots may 
be preserved, and found sincerely sound, whole, and 
firm ; but if she shall be justly proved and found 
guilty of the murder of her husband, which were much 
to be lamented, she shall either be delivered into your 
hands, upon good and sufficient sureties and assurances 
for the safety of her life and good usage of her ; or 
else she shall continue to be kept in England, in such 
sort as neither the prince her son, nor you, the Earl 
of Murray, shall be in any danger by her liberty. And 
for the time to come, her majesty will maintain the 
authority of the said prince to be king, and the gov- 
ernment of the realm by you, the Earl of Murray, ac- 
cording to the laws of Scotland. 5 

" Somewhat re-assured by this declaration, Murray 
spoke. He said that it had long been repugnant to 
his feelings to make public acts of a nature calculated 
to sully the honor of the mother of his sovereign in 
the eyes of strangers ; but that he was now compelled 
by necessity to defend himself, and that all blame 
must rest upon those who had forced him to drag into 
light the proofs which he had hitherto concealed. 
However, as the verbal declarations which had been 
given in Elizabeth's name did not satisfy him, as he 
knew that princess would readily disavow them, Mur- 
ray required an assurance, under the English Queen's 



270 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

hand, that she would pronounce a judgment, before 
he gave in his accusation. To this Cecil replied, that 
he had ample assurance already ; and it ill became 
him to suspect or doubt the words of their royal mis- 
tress. ' Where,' he added, ' is your accusation V ' It 
is here,' answered John Wood, the regent's secretary, 
plucking it from his bosom, * and here it must re- 
main till we see the Queen's hand writ.' As he spoke, 
the Bishop of Orkney — who was dissatisfied with the 
regent's vacillating policy, and who agreed with Mor- 
ton, Lindsay, the Abbot of Dunfermline, and Buchan- 
an, in wishing to put matters to extremities — stepped 
up to Wood, snatched the paper from his hands, and 
running to the table, placed it before the English 
commissioners. Wood remained, for an instant, mo- 
tionless, from real or feigned astonishment ; but quick- 
ly recovering himself, he sprang after the bishop. 
He was, however, too late to stop him, and was obli- 
ged to resume his seat, amid the ill-suppressed laugh- 
ter of many present. This scene of violence and 
buffoonery formed the fitting introduction to the de- 
famation of a Queen by her own subjects, before the 
subjects of another sovereign. 

" In his accusation, Murray stated that as Bothwell 
was the author of Darnley's murder, so the Queen, his 
wife, had persuaded him to commit it ; that she was 
not only in the foreknowledge of the same, but a rnain- 
tainer of the assassins, as she had shown by thwarting 
the course of justice, and by marrying the chief 
executor of that foul crime. To give additional force 
to this solemn denunciation of Mary's culpability, the 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 271 

father of the murdered king added his demand for 
vengeance. The Earl of Lennox presented himself 
before the English commissioners, and in the most 
pathetic language, accused Queen Mary of having 
conspired the death of his son, declared that until that 
moment he had not expected to obtain justice, except 
at the hand of God, but that he now laid his case in 
full confidence before their lordships, whom her ma- 
jesty, the Queen of England, whose natural-born sub- 
ject his son was, had authorized to hear this cause. 

" Mary Stuart labored under a most terrible accu- 
sation. Her deputies were thrown into great conster- 
nation, and deliberated for two days upon the course 
they ought to pursue. Before breaking up the con- 
ference, in conformity to the latest instructions they 
had received from their sovereign, they repelled the 
imputations which had been cast upon her, in contempt 
of all divine laws and human obligations, and bitterly 
complained that so unlawful and unexpected a proceed- 
ing had been allowed in England. ' My lords,' they 
wrote to the English commissioners, ' we are heartily 
sorry to hear that our countrymen intend to color their 
most unjust, ungrateful, and shameful doings against 
their natural sovereign, liege lady and mistress, who 
hath been so beneficial to them. Her grace hath made 
them, from mean men, earls and lords ; and now, with- 
out any evil deserving on her part, in either deed or 
word, to any of them, she is thus recompensed with 
calumnious and false reports, and slandered to her re- 
proach in this great matter, whereof they that now 
pretend herewith to excuse their treason were the 



272 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

first inventors — having written with their own hands 
that devilish bond, the conspiracy for the slaughter of 
that innocent young gentleman, Henry Stuart, late 
spouse of our sovereign, and presented her in mar- 
riage to their wicked confederate, James, Earl Both- 
well, as was made manifest before ten thousand 
people in Edinburgh.' 

" After protesting against what i these rebels and 
calumniators had done in Scotland,' Mary's commis- 
sioners affirmed that their usurpation was not assented 
to by an eighth part of the kingdom, and pointed out 
the consequences that might ensue to other princes, 
from granting impunity from this example of success- 
ful revolt and disloyal accusation. ' If this in them 
be tolerated,' they wrote, ' what prince lives upon the 
face of the earth whose ambitious subjects may not 
invent some slander, to deprive them of their supreme 
authority during their lifetime ? Your wisdoms well 
understand how far their doings exceed the bounds 
permitted to subjects in the holy and sacred Scrip- 
tures, and violate the loyal duty which they owe to 
their native princes. They attributed the insurrec- 
tion of Murray's party in Scotland, not to any desire 
to punish the murderers of the King, but to their am- 
bition to govern the kingdom ; and in conclusion, 
they repeated that their mistress, whose ancestors had 
been independent monarchs, and who was herself an 
independent princess, could not be judged by any 
living authority, as the Queen of England herself had 
admitted. 

" Their next step was to demand an immediate au- 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 273 

dience of Elizabeth. "When admitted to her presence, 
they complained in strong terms of the manner in 
which the proceedings had been conducted. They 
reminded her of her promise, that in the absence of 
their royal mistress, nothing should be done which 
might affect her honor and authority ; complained 
that, in violation of this promise, her subjects had 
been encouraged to load her with the most attrocious 
imputations ; reiterated their demand that she should, 
in common justice, be allowed to appear in person 
and plead her own cause ; and, meanwhile, besought 
that her accusers might be arrested. This bold de- 
mand perplexed Elizabeth, but she extricated herself 
from the dilemma with her usual astuteness. After de- 
claring that she had never believed the Queen of Scots 
guilty of the murder of her husband, she went on to 
say, that as the regent and his colleagues had brought 
this accusation against her in their own defence, it 
would be unjust not to give them an opportunity to 
prove their allegations. She had, therefore, resolved 
to send for them, and to demand their proofs ; after 
which she would willingly hear their mistress in her 
own justification. The partiality of this proceeding, 
which transformed those who were accused of rebel- 
lion into the accusers of a murder, filled Mary's com- 
missioners with indignation. They remonstrated 
against a further hearing being granted to Murray, 
and ended by solemnly protesting, that nothing that 
might be done hereafter had their consent, or should 
in any way prejudice the rights of their sovereign. 
" Their indignation, however, was only assumed as 
L* 18 



274: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

a cloak for tlieir alarm ; and whilst they were most 
bitterly inveighing against the regent, they sent to 
him to propose a compromise. In order to prevent 
the production of those formidable documents, which 
Elizabeth's perfidious animosity so ardently desired, 
they suggested that she should become reconciled to 
his sister, who would, doubtless, restore him to her 
favor, and give him and his adherents every pledge 
that they might require. But this was only a recon- 
ciliation, whilst Murray and the lords of his party de- 
manded an abdication. Elizabeth, moreover, declared 
that a queen, who labored under so grave a charge, 
ought not to compromise the matter, but to defend 
herself."* 

During these proceedings, Mary wrote a letter of 
condolence and complaint to the king of Spain, which 
is a beautiful expression of sympathy and suffering. 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO KING PHILIP IT. 

" Most high and most puissant prince, my very 
dear and well beloved brother, cousin and ally, in the 
midst of my adversity, I have received, at the same 
moment, two pieces of news, from which it would 
seem that Fortune is redoubling her efforts to put an 
end to me altogether. One of these is that of the 
death of the queen, your consort madam, my good sis- 
ter, whose soul may God receive ! and the other, that 
some one has represented to you that I am wavering 
in my religion, and that, to my misfortune, you doubt, 
sometimes, whether I have any at all. These two ac- 

* Mignet. 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 275 

counts afflict me to such a degree, that, though one 
leaves some hojDe of solace and remedy, I see none for 
the other. I know not which of the two grieves me 
most. I have reason to mourn, as I do with you, the 
death of so good and virtuous a princess, whose loss, I 
am sure, will be most painful to you. As for myself, 
personally, it has bereft me of the best sister and friend 
I had in the world — of her in whom I had the great- 
est hope ; and, though this loss is irreparable, though 
we ought to be resigned to it, and to submit to the 
will of God, who has been pleased to take her to him- 
self, and to remove her from this life to enjoy another 
much more happy, still, it is impossible for me to 
mention, or even think of her, but my heart melts into 
tears and sighs, while the love I bore her is incessantly 
recalling her to my memory. I have, also, particular 
cause to be afflicted, as I am afraid of losing that 
which she had in part gained for me with you ; that 
is to say, so good an opinion, that I would be very 
sure of finding in you that protection and favor which 
I need in my misfortunes, as I am certain that, if God 
had but spared her life until now, she would have an- 
swered to you for me, and have assured you that the 
reports made to you are absolutely false, which they 
really are. It is not long since I wrote to her, and I 
remember that, among other things, I intimated my 
firm resolution of living and dying in the Roman 
Catholic faith, whatever ill usage I might have to en- 
dure here on that account, and this, too, before I had 
the least suspicion that any one had endeavored to 
calumniate me to you, though I have had a long ex- 



276 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

perience of the wickedness of the rebels and other 
persons of this country, who tolerate them, because 
they are all of the same sect ; but I never could have 
thought that calumny could have so many attractions 
for persons professing the Catholic religion, and of 
that faith I believe them to be who prejudiced you 
against me. 

" I must now tell you that, whoever the person may 
be who has been the instrument of such disservice, I 
beseech you not to believe him, as he must be misin- 
formed ; and if you will please to honor me by ap- 
pointing individuals worthy of confidence, to make 
inquiries of those persons who are about me, and who 
are the most capable of answering and speaking on 
any subject whatever, I am sure that they will certify 
the very contrary, for they have never heard me utter 
a single word, or do the least thing that could give 
them so unfavorable an idea of me. 

" If I do not exercise my religion, it must not be 
concluded that I waver between the two. Besides, 
since my arrival in this kingdom, I begged to be, at 
least, allowed to exercise it in the same manner 
as the ambassador of a foreign prince is permitted to 
do : but was told that I was a kinswoman of the 
Queen's, and should never obtain that indulgence. 
An English minister was afterward sent to me ; he 
merely recites some prayers in the vulgar tongue, 
which I had not the power to prevent, because I was, 
as I still am, deprived of my liberty, and closely 
guarded. But if it be supposed I have done wrong 
by being present at those prayers which I attended, 



M1ET QUEEN OP SCOTS. 277 

because I was not allowed any other exercise of my 
religion, I am ready to make any amends that may be 
considered necessary, that all the Catholic princes in 
the world may be convinced that I am an obedient, 
submissive, and devoted daughter of the holy Catholic 
and Roman church, in the faith of which I will live 
and die, without ever entertaining any other intention 
than this — an intention from which, with the help of 
God, I will never swerve in any way whatever. 

" But, as a single word on this point ought to suf- 
fice, I will not trouble you further on the subject, ex- 
cept to entreat you to lend a favorable ear to that 
which I have charged the Archbishop of Glasgow, 
my ambassador at the court of France, to say to your 
resident at the said court, that he may communicate 
it to you. 

" These presents having no other object, I conclude, 
very humbly and affectionately recommending my- 
self to your favor, and praying the Creator to grant 
you a long and happy life. 

" From the Castle of Bowton, in England, the last 
day of the month of November, one thousand five 
hundred and sixty-eight. 

" Your very good sister, Mary." 

The Scotch deputies, perceiving in the determina- 
tion of Elizabeth to make Mary answer to the charge 
of complicity in the Darnley murder, and the proof 
which Murray was to offer of her guilt in his own 
defence, augmenting danger to their Queen, dissolved 
the conference, entered a solemn protest against the 



278 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

course of arbitration, and withdrew, under the osten- 
sible design of self-vindication. The regent, in accord- 
ance with the order of the English commissioners, 
furnished the contents of the silver casket, with man- 
ifold evidence of their authority. The court affirmed 
the testimony to be conclusive, and proceeded, in the 
face of renewed protest and dissolution of the confer- 
ence, to their illegal yet withering conclusions. The 
privy council of Elizabeth approved the entire action, 
and resolved " that, as the crimes wherewith the 
Queen of Scots had been by common fame burdened, 
are made more apparent by many vehement allega- 
tions and presumptions upon things now produced, 
the Queen's majesty cannot, without manifest blem- 
ish of her own honor, agree to have the said Queen 
come into her presence until the said horrible crimes 
may be, by some just and reasonable answer, avoided 
and removed from her." 

Elizabeth made propositions for permitting Mary 
to answer the fatal documents, which were promptly 
rejected. She also wrote to the prisoner in a sym- 
pathetic strain, but remained true to the policy of an 
imperial sway, whose unquestioned possession was 
more precious than a rival's bleeding heart. 

QUEEN ELIZABETH TO MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

" Madame, while your cause hath bene here treated 
upon, we thought it not nedeful to write anything 
thereof unto you, supposing, alwaies, that your com- 
missioners wolde thereof advertise as they sawe cause. 
And now, sithen they hawe broken this conference, 



MARY QUE EN OF SCOTS. 279 

by refusing to make answer as they say by your 
commandment, and for that purpose they returne to 
you ; although we thinke you shall by them perceive 
the whole proceedings ; yet we cannot but let youe 
understand by these our lettres, that- as we have been 
very sorry of long time for your mishappes and great 
troubles, so find we our sorrowes now dubled in be- 
holding such thinges as are produced, to prove your- 
self cause of all the same. And our grief herein is 
also increased, in that we did not think at any time 
to have seen or hard such matters of so grate ap- 
parunce and moment to chardge and condemne youe. 
Nevertheless, both in frindship, nature and justice, 
we are moved to couer these matters, and stay our 
judgment, and not to gather any sence thereof to 
your preiudice, before we may hear of yonr direct 
answer thereunto, according as your commissioners 
understand our meaning to be, which, at their request, 
is delivered to them in writing. And as we trust they 
will aduise youe for your honor to agree to make 
answer, as we have mentioned them, so surely we can- 
not but as one prince and nere cousin regarding an- 
other,' moost earnestlye as we may in terms of friend- 
ship, require and chardge you not to forbeare from 
answering. And for our parte as we are heartely 
sorry, and dismaide to find such mater of your 
chardge ; and although we doubt not but you are 
well certified of the diligence and care of your min- 
isters having your commission, yet can we not, be- 
sides an allowance generally of them, especially note 
to you your good choice of this bearer, the Bishoppe 



280 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

of Ross, who hath not only faithfully and wisely, 
but also so carefully and dutifully, for your honor 
and weale, behaved himself, and that both privately 
and publickly, as we cannot but in this sorte com- 
mende him unto youe, as we wish you had many 
such devoted discrete seruuants. For in our judge- 
ment, we thinke we have not any" that in loyalty and 
faithfulnes can overmatche him. And this we are 
the bolder to write, considering we take it the best 
triall of a good seruante to be in aduersitie, out of 
which we wish you to be deliuered by the iustifica- 
tion of your innocency. 

"And so trusting to hear shortly from you, we 
make an encle. Geven at Hampton Court, under 
our Signet the xxth of December, 1568, in the Leau- 
enthe year of Reign e. 

" Your good sistar and cousin, 

" Elizabeth." 

Mary refused to appear as a criminal, and displayed 
her great qualities of character. Amid all her ca- 
lamities — ■ changing policy — disappointments and 
tears, she had never despaired. Ambitious and bold 
in prosecuting her plans, she assumed the bearing 
and dignity of a Queen in the hour of greatest peril. 
She spurned the thought of self-defence, and turned 
with unsparing attack upon Murray. She used the 
following language in a message to her commissioners : 

" Forasmuch as the Earl of Murray and his adhe- 
rents, our rebellious subjects, have added unto their 
pretended excuses, produced by them for coloring 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 281 

of their horrible crimes and offences, committed 
against us, their sovereign lady and mistress, the 
charge that c as the Earl of Bothwell was the princi- 
pal executor of the murder committed on the person 
of Harry Stuart, our late husband, so we knew, coun- 
seled, devised, persuaded, and commanded the said 
murder,' — they have falsely, traitorously, and wickedly 
lied ; maliciously imputing unto us a crime of which 
themselves were authors and inventors, and some of 
them even executors." Repelling the charge of having 
impeded the proceedings of justice against Darnley's 
murderers, and of having given her consent before 
hand to her marriage with Bothwell, she alluded, with 
consummate ability and eloquence, to the danger to 
which the lords declared that she had exposed her 
son : " That calumny," she pathetically observed, 
" should suffice for proof of all the-rest. The natural 
love of a mother towards her bairn, confounds them ; 
but in the malice and impiety of their hearts, they 
judge others by their own affection." 

Accordingly, the Scotch commissioners presented 
their accusations of regicide against the regent and 
his friends, sustained and vehemently urged by the 
Bishop of Ross. Upon hearing of the new order of 
royal battle for sovereignty, the impetuous Lindsay 
sent a challenge to Lord Herries. January 11th 
Murray confronted Mary's representatives, and de- 
manded proof of their charges. Their prosecution of 
him and defence of their Queen, were indefinite, and 
too general for any important issue. An abdication 
was again proposed by Elizabeth, as the only final 



282 MARY QTJEEN OF SCOTS. 

settlement of the distressing difference. But Mary's 
imprudence and guilt had gone abroad in published 
documents, and she would not voluntarily resign her 
crown, and in the act confess her criminality. She 
affirmed to the commissioners, — " the last words that 
I shall utter in my life, shall be the words of a Queen 
of Scotland." 

The conference was closed, and the condition of 
Mary's affairs was worse than when it began. Mur- 
ray returned to guard his throne, with the consent 
and approval of Elizabeth and her court. Mary 
wrote complainingly to the Queen of England : 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO ELIZABETH. 

" Madam my good sister — I know not what occasion 
I can have given to any of this company, or at least of 
your kingdom, that they should endeavor to persuade 
you (as it appears to me by your letter,) of a thing 
so distant from my thoughts, whereof my conduct 
has borne witness. Madam, I came to you in my 
trouble for succor and support, on the faith of the 
assurance that I might reckon upon you for every 
assistance in my necessity ; and, for this reason, I 
refrained from applying for any other aid to friends, 
relatives, and ancient allies ; relying solely upon your 
promised favor. I have never attempted, either by 
word or deed, aught to the contrary, and nobody can 
lay to my charge anything against you. Still, to 
my unspeakable regret, I see my actions falsely rep- 
resented and construed ; but I hope that God and 
time, the father of truth, will declare otherwise, and 



MART QUEEN OF SOOTS. 283 

prove to you the sincerity of my intentions towards 
you. 

" In the meantime, I am treated so rigorously, that 
I cannot comprehend whence proceeds the extreme 
indignation which this demonstrates that you have 
conceived against me, in return for the confidence 
which I have placed in you, in preference to all other 
princes, and the desire I have shown to obtain your 
favor. I cannot but deplore my evil fortune, seeing 
you have been pleased not only to refase me your 
presence, causing me to be declared unworthy of it 
by your nobles ; but also suffered me to be torn in 
pieces by my rebels, without even making them answer 
to that which I have alleged against them ; not allow- 
ing me to have copies of their false accusations, or 
affording me any liberty to accuse them. You have 
also permitted them to retire, with a decree, in a manner 
absolving and strengthening them in this usurped so- 
called regency, and have thrown the blame upon me, 
and covertly condemned me without giving me a 
hearing, detained my ministers, caused me to be re- 
moved by force, without informing me what has been 
resolved upon respecting my affairs ; why I am to be 
transferred to another abode ; how long I am to re- 
main there ; how I shall be treated there ; or for what 
reason I am confined, and all support and my requests 
refused. 

"All these things, along with petty annoyances, 
such as not permitting me to receive news from my 
relatives in France, nor from my servants on my pri- 
vate necessities, having in like manner anew inter- 



284 MAE Y QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

dieted all communication with Scotland, nay, refused 
me leave to give any commission to one of my ser- 
vants, or to send my letters by them, grieve me so 
sorely, and make me, to tell you the truth, so timid 
and irresolute, that I am at a loss how to act, nor can 
I resolve upon ob eying so sudden an order to depart, 
without first receiving some news from my commis- 
sioners : not that this place is a whit more agreeable 
than any other which you may be pleased to assign ; 
when you have made me acquainted with your good 
will toward me, and on what conditions. 

"Wherefore, madam, I entreat you not to think 
that I mean any offence, but a natural care which I 
owe to myself and my people, to wish to know the 
end before disposing of myself so lightly, I mean vol- 
untary ; for I am in your power, and you can, in spite 
of me, command even the lowest of your subjects to 
sacrifice me without my being able to do anything 
but appeal to God and you, for other support I have 
none ; and, thank God, I am so silly as to suppose that 
any of your subjects concern themselves about the 
affairs of a poor, forlorn, foreign prince, who, next to 
God, seeks your aid alone, and, if my adversaries tell 
you anything to the contrary, they are false, and de- 
ceive you ; for I honor you as my eldest sister ; and 
notwithstanding all the grievances above mentioned, 
I shall be ever ready to solicit, as of my eldest sister, 
your friendship before that of any other. "Would to 
God you would grant it me, and treat me as I should 
wish to deserve in your place ! When this shall come 
to pass, I shall be happy ; if not, God grant me pa- 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 285 

tience, and you his grace ! And here I will humbly 
recommend myself to yours, praying God to grant 
you, madam, health, and a long and happy life. 
" From Bolton, this xxii. of January, (1568-9.) 
"Your very affectionate good sister and cousin, 

" Mary R' 

Mary again requested a copy of the letters in evi- 
dence against her, but Elizabeth denied her, unless 
she would vindicate her impeached honor. This the 
resolute captive would do only in the presence of the 
English Queen and foreign ambassadors. The hope- 
less contest continued for weeks. Permission was 
desired in behalf of Mary Stuart, to leave England, as 
the regent, her brother, had done. Instead of compli- 
ance, Elizabeth removed her, under the care of the 
Earl of Shrewsbury, farther into the interior of the 
kingdom. 

"It was January 26th, 1569, that Mary arrived at 
the Castle of Tutbury, with impressions of terror and 
disgust, which were somewhat softened by the pres- 
ence of her faithful friends, Lord and Lady Living- 
ston, Mary Seaton, and a junior Livingston ; nor, to 
a heart susceptible as hers of personal attachment, 
could it be a matter of indifference, that in her re- 
duced train of domestics, she saw many faces long 
familiar to remembrance,* — the experienced Raulet, 
her French secretary, and the gallant William Doug- 
lass, her juvenile protector. In the family of her new 

* Those attendants were thirty in number. See Lodge's "Illus- 
trations of British History," vol. ii. 



28G MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

guardians might be discovered the epitome of a court, 
with all its concomitant suspicions and intrigues, venal 
spies, and domestic discords. Naturally liberal and 
courteous, the Earl of Shrewsbury was united to a 
woman whose imperious and crafty temper constantly 
embittered his existence. 

" In contemplating her desperate fortunes, she had 
no alternative but to suppress her discontent, to prac- 
tice patience, and assume the language of resignation. 
Instead, therefore, of proclaiming her resentment for 
the violence which had been offered to her inclina- 
tions, she not only affected to reconcile herself to a 
residence in Tutbury Castle, but by every possible 
concession labored to efface those religious or politi- 
cal impressions which might operate against her per- 
sonal interests ; and. she not only persisted in attend- 
ing public worship according to the Anglican church, 
but condescended to solicit an introduction to every 
person who visited Lord Shrewsbury's family." 

A writer has recorded an interview enjoyed with 
Mary at this time. " Her grace fell in talk with me 
on sundry matters, from six to seven of the clock, be- 
ginning first ':o excuse her ill English, declaring her- 
self more willing than apt to learn that language, and 
how she used translations as a means to attain it, and 
that Mr. Vice-chamberlain (Knolles) was a good 
schoolmaster.' ' I asked her how she liked her change 
of air.' She said, ' If it might have pleased her good 
sister, she would not have removed at this time ; but 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 287 

added (doubtless to qualify the objection), she was 
better content, because she was come so much nearer 
to the Queen's majesty, whom she desired above all 
things to see.' In reply to this, "White had the 
effrontery to remark, that ' though denied the actual, 
she was effectively admitted to the real presence of 
his sovereign, whose affectionate and sisterly care was 
constantly manifested for her preservation. At the 
same time he reminded her of the perils from which 
she had escaped, and with solemn mockery felicitated 
her singular good fortune in having reached this hos- 
pitable realm, and received in it such honorable and 
liberal treatment.' The insolence of this address was, 
perhaps, in some degree disguised by quaint and 
common-place recommendations of patience and piety, 
with which it was abundantly seasoned ; and Mary 
listened to the didactic courtier with apparent com- 
placency, gently remarking, that ' patience was in- 
deed most necessary to her present state, and that she 
prayed God to bestow it on her.' Dismissing sub- 
jects of personal interest, the visitor demanded how 
the Queen passed her time when debarred by bad 
weather from using exercise. She replied, that ' she 
spent her time in needlework, and that the variety of 
the colors beguiled the occupation which she contin- 
ued in, till admonished by the pain in her side, that 
she ought to desist.' She then entered into a compar- 
ison of painting with sculpture ; but soon withdrew 
to her apartment, probably to vent the bitterness of 
her soul in murmurs against her pretended benefac- 
tors. Abstracted from the positive miseries of her 



288 MART QTJEEN OF SCOTS. 

present situation, Mary created to herself a new 
source of torment, by yilding to suspicions the most 
chimerical and absurd. That in Sir William Cecil 
she had an enemy she could not doubt ; but instead 
of attributing his hostility to the true cause, namely, 
his intimate association with the Regent Murray, and 
his ardent attachment to the religion which that 
statesman professed, she suffered herself to be persua- 
ded that the sagacious minister of Elizabeth labored 
to effectuate her exclusion from the throne of Eng- 
land, purposely that he might raise to it another pre- 
tender, the Earl of Huntingdon.* But, however 
credulous Mary might be, her English adversaries ap- 
pear to have been equally addicted to conjectural fan- 
cies, since Nicholas White professed to be perplexed 
by the motto which he saw embroidered on her cloth 
of estate — dans ma fin est mon commencement / 
and, for the sake of Elizabeth, adduced many reasons 
why c the Queen of Scots should be seen as little as 
possible ; besides, that she is a goodly personage, 
though not comparable to our sovereign ; she hath 
withal an alluring grace, a pretty Scotch speech, and 
a searching wit, clouded with mildness. Fame might 
move some to relieve her, and glory joined to gain, 
might stir others to adventure much for her sake ; 
then joy is a lively impetuous passion, and carrieth 
many persuasions to the heart, which ruleth all the 
rest." 

* The earl had married a female descendant of the Duke of Cla- 
rence, the brother of Edward the Fourth. 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 289 

Murray was not at ease in his triumph. The Duke 
of Norfolk was exasperated because the regent had 
interposed new obstacles in the way of his marriage 
to Mary Stuart. Catholic earls were in a blaze of 
religious enmity. Assassination threatened him, and 
it was only by stratagem that he escaped. He ap- 
peased the Duke of Norfolk with pleas of necessity in 
appearing as the accuser of his sister, and promises 
of kindest interest for her future well-being. Mary 
immediately summoned her energies and her availa- 
ble influence to the work of attempting a deliverance 
from captivity. France was in sympathy with her 
design, Scotland was ready to furnish an armed force, 
and the north of England was roused, while Spain 
was moving for an invasion of Britain. The Duke of 
Chatellerault, and Lord Herries, with Huntley and 
Argyle, presented themselves to the insurgent lords, 
as Mary's chieftains. Murray retained with him the 
citizens of the towns, the Presbyterian clergy, and 
the most energetic, effective members of the nobility. 
With this array of fighting men, and the reins of au- 
thority in his hands, he called a convention of his 
adherents to secure their formal approval of his opera- 
tions, at Stirling Castle, and immediately marched 
forth to suprise the enemy. He came upon the Duke 
of Chatellerault and Herries, and compelled them to 
make a treaty, March 18th, 1569. They acknowledged 
the 'young King, on condition of restoring refugees ; 
and agreed upon a conference, to be held in April, for 
the final arrangement of conflicting claims. The re- 
gent employed the truce wisely. He subdued the 

M 19 



290 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

Borderers, and strengthened himself for a controlling 
power in the assembly of the nobility. The evening 
before it commenced its sessions, April 9th, the duke 
and Hemes received letters from Mary Stuart, con- 
demning their concessions and plan of pacification. 
Chatellerault quailed beneath her reproaches, and 
slept till the dawn of morning. Lord Herries was so 
overcome, that he was taken severely ill. They 
therefore retracted, and Murray put an end to dis- 
cussion and explanation, by ordering his guards to 
escort them to the Castle of Edinburgh, and place 
them under the care of the kirkaldy of Grange. He 
then marched triumphantly among the startled adhe- 
rents of Mary, ravaged their country, and took their 
castles, leaving a track of conquest from Inverness to 
Dumfries, from Dunbar to Glasgow. He then order- 
ed the assembly of the estates of the realm to convene 
July 25th, 1569. He was met at Inverness upon his 
return from the North, by Lord Boyd, whom Mary 
had dispatched to negotiate with her brother concern- 
ing articles of restoration to her kingdom and her 
marriage with Norfolk. The duke was encouraged 
in his ambitious hopes, and a renewal of his scheme, 
which the disastrous issue of the conference interrupt- 
ed. Mary's partizans at home, and the friends of 
peace in England, favored the union of a Catholic 
Queen with a Protestant duke, whose consanguinity 
to Henry VII. was an element of popularity. Eliza- 
beth was feeble in health, and had made no provision 
for the succession to the throne ; those circumstances 
increased the interest in the projected marriage, to 



MARY QT7EEN OF SCOTS. 291 

which Mary Stuart consented, contrary to an express- 
ed resolution not to marry again. 

Murray's conquests in Scotland had augmented his 
own strength, and greatly darkened Mary's pros- 
pects. Elizabeth sent to the convention at Perth, in 
July, three propositions. The first was to restore Ma- 
ry Stuart to her throne ; the second, if more desira- 
ble, suggested the associating of young James with 
her in sovereignty ; and the third, if the former were 
rejected, was that the people of Scotland receive the 
captive as a private person. The Queen of England, 
doubtless, did not expect the acceptance of either, 
amid the hostile parties and interests of a distracted 
realm. Mary was sadly disappointed in the issue of 
the discussions at Perth, and addressed herself to oth- 
er possibilities of success, with an unflagging energy, 
which has a masculine tone, in singular contrast with 
her charming beauty. She corresponded affection- 
ately with the Duke of Norfolk, who kept open doors, 
and with the tact of ancient Absalom, " stole the 
hearts of the people." Wrote the Ambassador Fene- 
lon to Catherine de Medici : 

"The affairs of the Queen of Scotland are obtain- 
ing great strength by means of the Duke of Norfolk, 
who proposes to marry her .... and even if the 
Queen of England should not approve of the scheme, 
they will nevertheless carry it out, so far are matters 
already advanced .... and if she does not speedily 
resolve to procure the liberation and restoration of the 
Queen of Scotland, they will force her to do so against 
her will." 



292 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

The watchful, observant, and determined Elizabeth 
had heard intimations of her rival's manifold plans, 
and replied to the plea of Fenelon in behalf of Mary : 

" I am aware of all the intrigues that have been 
carried on since she entered the kingdom. Princes 
have large ears, which hear far and near. She has 
attempted to move the interior of this realm against 
me, by means of some of my subjects, who promise 
her great things ; but they are persons who conceive 
mountains, and bring forth only molehills. They 
thought I was so foolish that I should not perceive 
their doings." 

The Queen of England turned her searching sus- 
picion toward the matrimonial plot, and soon knew 
it all. 

"When the perseverance of Norfolk, in the face of 
stern remonstrance, the treachery of privy counsel- 
ors, and the extending sympathy of the nobility in 
the contemplated alliance, were fully revealed, the 
intelligent madness of her rage spread paleness and 
trembling among brave and powerful men. The 
duke withdrew into Norfolk, followed by others of 
the nobility, to mature a revolt. Spain had furnished 
money to the fugitive Queen, and her lover. Pope 
Pius Y. wrote to the Spanish general in Netherlands, 
where he had just crushed an insurrection : 

"¥e conjure thy nobleness, and we beseech thee 
, with our whole soul not to forget to restore to liberty 
our dear daughter in Jesus Christ, the Queen of Scot- 
land, and again to establish her, if possible, in her 
kingdom. Thy nobleness could not undertake any- 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 293 

thing more agreeable and more useful to Almighty 
God, than the deliverance of this Queen, who has de- 
served well of the Catholic faith, and who is. oppressed 
by the power of her heretical enemies." 

If there had been a united and fearless uprising of 
all who hated Elizabeth, in connection with foreign 
Catholic aid, even the haughty daughter of Henry 
VIII. , and Protestantism also, might have yielded to 
the political storm. But no time was lost in the pal- 
ace of the mighty Queen. Mary was ordered to be 
taken from Wingfield, one of the estates of the kind 
Earl of Shrewsbury, and more closely confined in the 
stronghold of Tutbury. Thwarted and endangered, 
the prisoner was undaunted. She wrote to Fenelon, 
" I beseech you, encourage my friends to be on their 
guard, and to act for me now or never ;" and added, 
to Norfolk, an earnest entreaty to act bravely, and 
not trouble himself about her life, as God would keep 
her in safety. But Norfolk was not equal to the des- 
perate game. lie wrote an obsequious, cowardly let- 
ter to Elizabeth, and in reply, she commanded his im- 
mediate return to court. Overcome with fear, arising 
from his own irresolution, and his sovereign's threats, 
lie went to London. His reception was an arrest, and 
imprisonment in the Tower. 

During the progress of these stirring, decisive 
events, Mary again transmitted a message to Eliza- 
beth, from a pen as faithful and ready in correspond- 
ence, as was her restless brain in expedients for re- 
trieving her lost fortunes. 



294: MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO QUEEN ELIZAEETH. 

" Madam, my good sister, wishing to exercise to the 
utmost the patience which it has pleased God to be- 
stow on me in my adversity, I have refrained, as long 
as possible, from importuning you with my complaints, 
trusting that time, the father of truth, and your own 
good disposition, would lead you to perceive the mal- 
ice of my enemies, who strive to trample me to the 
earth, and move you to pity one of your own blood — 
your equal ; who, next to God, has chosen you from 
among all other princes for her refuge, confiding in 
your favorable letters and kind promises, strengthened 
by the ties of consanguinity and near neighborhood, 
so that I have placed myself, voluntarily, and without 
constraint, into your hands and power, where I have 
remained above two years, sometimes in hopes of 
your favor and support, from your courteous letters, 
at others, driven to despair by the underhand dealings 
and the false reports of my enemies. 

" Nevertheless, my affection for you has always led 
me to hope for the best, and to suffer my wrongs pa- 
tiently ; but now that you listen to the malice of my 
rebels, as the Bishop of Ross informs me, refusing to 
hear the just complaint of her who has placed herself 
voluntarily in your power, and thrown herself into 
your arms, I have presumed once more to try my for- 
tune, and appeal to the Queen, my good sister her- 
self. Ah, madam, what stronger proof of my friend- 
ship can I offer than in thus putting my trust in you ! 
And, in return, will you destroy the hope which is 
placed in you by your sister and cousin, who neither 



MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 295 

can nor sought to obtain succor elsewhere ? Shall 
my confidence in you be disappointed, my patience 
prove vain, and the friendship and respect I cherish 
for you, be despised to such a degree that I cannot 
obtain what you could not justly refuse to the greatest 
stranger in the world ? I have never oifended you, 
but have loved and honored you, and tried by all 
means to please you, and to assure you of my kind 
disposition toward you. False reports have been 
made to you about me, which you. have credited so 
far as to treat me, not as a Queen and relative, come 
to seek support of you under your promise of favor, 
but as a prisoner, to whom you can impute the offense 
of a subject. 

" Since, madam, I cannot obtain permission to de- 
clare to you, face to face, my sincerity towards you, 
at least permit Monsieur de Rosse, my ambassador, to 
give you an account of my public as well as private 
deportment, and he has on many occasions witnessed 
the grief I feel at not knowing wherein I have offend- 
ed you, and on being compelled to repeat my old re- 
quests, respecting which I beg you to answer him and 
me too, namely, that it may please you, according to 
my first requests, to oblige me forever, by assisting 
me with your support to recover the state to which it 
has pleased God to call me among my subjects, as 
you have always promised ; or if consanguinity, my 
affection for you, and my long patience, should not 
seem to you to deserve this ; at least do not refuse me 
the liberty to depart as freely as I came, and retire 
either to France or elsewhere, among my friends and 



296 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

allies ; or should it please you to use rigor, and treat 
me as an enemy (which I have never been to you, nor 
desired to be,) allow me to redeem myself by ransom, 
as is the custom among all princes, even those who 
are enemies, and give me opportunity to negotiate 
with the said princes, my friends and allies, for rais 
ing the said ransom. 

" And, meanwhile, I entreat you, as I have intrusted 
my person to you, and offered in all things to follow 
your counsel, that I may not be injured by the extor- 
tions of my rebels against my faithful subjects, and 
that I may not be weakened, for having relied on 
your promises, by the loss of Donbertran. 

" And if the false reports of my enemies pre- 
vent you from bestowing any consideration on these 
points and my humble requests, and you are re- 
solved to take amiss all I have done, with the inten- 
tion of pleasing you, at least do not permit my life 
to be endangered without having deserved it, al- 
though the Abbot of Donfermelin has spread a report, 
and boasted that it is your intention, which I cannot 
believe, to put me into the hands of my rebel subjects, 
or other such in that country, whom they equally ap- 
prove of, and with whom I am not acquainted. I 
protest that I have never had the wish to offend you, 
or to do anything which could displease you ; nor 
have I merited the cruel return of being so slighted, 
as the Bishop of Kosse has already assured you, and 
will do again, if you but please to grant him an au- 
dience. Wherefore, I beseech you most humbly, and 
as above, to acquaint him with your determination ; 



MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 297 

if not out of affection, let it be out of pity. You have 
experienced what it is to suffer affliction ; you may 
thence judge what others suffer from it. 

" You have listened long enough to my enemies and 
their inventions to make you suspicious of me ; it is 
time to consider what are their motives for this, and 
their double dealing towards me, and what I am to 
you, and the affection towards you which has induced 
me to come to a place where you have such power 
over me. Call to mind the offers of friendship which 
you have made me, and the friendship which you 
have promised me, and how much I wish to please 
you, insomuch as to have neglected the support of 
other princes, by your advice and on the promise of 
yours. Forget not the rights of hospitality in my case 
alone, and weigh all this with the respect of your con- 
fidence, honor, and pity for one of your own blood, 
and then I trust I shall have no occasion to repent me. 

"Consider also, madam, what place I have filled, and 
how I was brought up, and, if experiencing, by means 
of my rebels or other enemies, so different a treatment 
from that, from hands from which I hoped for every 
comfort, how ill I can support such a burden, added 
to that of your displeasure, which is hardest of all to 
bear, which I have never deserved ; nor to be so closely 
imprisoned, that I have no means of receiving intelli- 
gence about my affairs, or taking any steps whatever 
for settling them, or consoling in the least such of my 
faithful subjects as are suffering on my account. Far 
am I from supporting them as I hoped. Again I be- 
seech you, let not the false reports and malicious de- 
M* 



298 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

signs of my enemies make you forget so many other 
points in my favor ; and, lastly, if nothing else can 
move your natural pity, despise not the pray era of 
the kings, my good brothers and allies, to whose am- 
bassadors I have written, begging them to make ur- 
gent intercession with you in my behalf. 

" And that you may not take it amiss, I entreat you 
to excuse me, if, in case you will not listen to your 
natural kindness and pity, for which I have loved and 
honored you so much, I beg them to inform the said 
kings of my necessity, and to solicit them to lend that 
aid in my affairs which I have expected from you, 
and which I now crave from you before any other. 
If you are pleased to grant it me, as I hope, you will 
find in the end that I have never deserved to lose it. 
If in this, or in any point of my letter, I offend you, 
excuse it, on account of the extreme urgency of my 
cause, and the infinite trouble that I am in. 

" I conclude, by referring to the Bishop of Ross, 
who will give you every information, and beg you to 
credit him as myself, who present my humble recom- 
mendations, praying God to make you thoroughly 
acquainted w r ith both my intention and my conduct. 

"From Tutbury, this x. of November, [1569.] 
" Your very kind and affectionate 

sister and cousin, Mary R. 

" I beg you to excuse me if I write ill, for my im- 
prisonment makes me unwell, and less capable of this 
or or any other employment." 

The Catholic adherents of Norfolk had gone too far 



MARY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 299 

to pause in rebellion. After conferring with the Pope, 
and appealing to interested nobles, they marched 
boldly, numbering five hundred horsemen, toward 
Durham. Upon a showy banner was painted Christ 
with the five bleeding wounds, which was held proud- 
ly up by " Old Richard Norton." The gates of Dur- 
ham flew open at the approach of the army ; the 
Bible was burned, the prayer-book destroyed, the 
communion table demolished, and the papal forms of 
worship established on the ruins. The rebels issued 
a proclamation, and soon mustered more than six thou- 
sand cavalry and infantry. 

It was a crisis to rouse the spirit and test the capaci- 
ty of Elizabeth. She arrested Throckmorton, the Bish- 
op of Ross, and other distinguished friends of Norfolk. 
She transferred Mary Stuart to Coventry, a strong castle 
in Warwickshire, beyond the possibility of sudden 
escape, and with orders that she be executed if the 
rebellion succeeded. Men of war were commissioned 
to cruise between the English coast and Netherlands, 
and Elizabeth gathered with great rapidity her royal 
soldiery to the imperial standard. The enemy, after 
vain attempts to enter large towns, besieged Barnard 
Castle, and. at the end of a twelve days' assault, as- 
sisted by mutiny within its walls, took the fortress, 
December 12th. Four days later, the insurgents, de- 
spairing of victory, disbanded, and the chieftains fled 
for refuge to Scotland. The Earl of Northumberland 
fell into the hands of Murray, and was sent to take 
Mary's vacant place in Lochleven Castle. 

To confirm his shaken authority, Murray now ap- 



300 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

plied to the Queen for money and the munitions of 
war, and desired that his sister be sent to his safe 
keeping. While the request was under discussion, 
the regent traveled from Stirling toward Edinburgh. 
At Linlithgow, through which he was to pass, lived 
James Hamilton, of Bothwell-Haugh, a deadly enemy 
of Murray. Confiscation, which was the spoils of 
victory, impoverished him, with many others. His 
wife had been turned from his home by Bellenden, a 
devoted servant of the regent, to whom the small es- 
tate had been given as a reward, in the darkness of 
night, and left to wander partially clothed till morn- 
ing, amid a desolate forest. When the dawn illumined 
her path, reason's light was quenched. She was a 
despairing maniac. Bothwell-Haugh swore vengeance 
on Murray, as the responsible author of the ravages 
which secured the cruel deed. The regent approach- 
ed Linlithgow with his imposing train. " The Arch- 
bishop of St. Andrews, uncle of Bothwell-Haugh, 
possessed a house, in front of which Murray and his 
cavalcade would necessarily pass. This house was 
placed at the disposal of Bothwell-Haugh, who made 
every preparation for the unfailing performance of the 
act of vengeance which he had concerted with the 
Hamiltons. He took his station in a small room, or 
wooden gallery, which commanded a full view of the 
street. To prevent his heavy footsteps being heard, 
for he was booted and spurred, he placed a feather- 
bed on the floor ; to secure against any chance obser- 
vation of his shadow, which, had the sun broke out, 
might have caught the eye, he hung up a black cloth 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 301 

on the opposite wall ; and, having barricaded the 
door in front, he had a swift horse ready saddled in 
the stable at the back. Even here his preparations 
did not stop ; for, observing that the gate in the wall 
which enclosed the garden was too low to admit a 
man on horseback, he removed the lintel stone, and, 
returning to his chamber, cut, in the wooden panel 
immediately below the lattice window, where he 
watched, a hole just sufficient to admit the barrel of 
his caliver. Having taken these precautions, he 
loaded the piece with four bullets, and calmly awaited 
his victim." Murray was warned to avoid High 
street, because rumors were rife of fatal plots. But 
the dense crowd flocked the way, and he rode calmly 
forward, amid the loud shouts of an excited populace. 
When he reached the archbishop's house, Hamilton 
took cool and fatal aim at the noble form of Murray. 
There was a startling report, and the regent reeled 
from his horse, while the silence of horror, broken 
with muttered wrath, fell upon the just before exul- 
tant throngs. Then they rushed like sounding surges 
toward the house, from which Hamilton fled before 
an entrance could be made, and reached safely Ham- 
ilton Castle. He was welcomed by the Archbishop 
of St. Andrews and nobles present. The same day, 
January 20th, 1570, Murray died. He expired pla- 
cidly as the setting sun, in Christian faith and hope. 
He was a great and heroic man, upon the surface of 
whose splendid career, were acts of violence and 
treachery, not excusable, yet scarcely avoidable, from 
the intrigues and pressure of tempestuous times. His 



302 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

people called him the Good Regent, and his adminis- 
tration of justice entitled him to the compliment. A 
sincere Protestant, his court wore ever the air and 
sober livery of the Puritan religion. Ambitious, and 
not always just, his tragical death is another illustra- 
tion of the uncertainty and brevity of earthly honors. 
The fall of this brilliant ruler, whose virtues, con- 
sidering all the circumstances of history, altogether 
transcended his errors, reanimated the faction of 
Mary Stuart. The Hamiltons again took the field ; 
Lethington, and other distinguished captives of Mur- 
ray were released ; the Pope issued a sentence of 
excommunication and deposition against Elizabeth, 
to revenge the Catholics ; and a certain Leonard 
Daese, of Gilsland, had raised the standard of insur 
rection, with three thousand men. The Queen of 
England felt that danger threw ominous shadows upon 
her throne. The Earl of Surrey and Lord Scrope 
were sent to ravage Scotland on the east and west, 
and the Earl of Lennox was dispatched to guide the 
party of his son, young James YL, in the place of the 
murdered Murray. During these bloody expeditions, 
Mary wrote to the Archbishop of Glasgow, urging 
her cause : 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO THE AECHBISHOP OF GLASGOW. 

"Tutbtjry, 30th April, (1570.) 

"Monsieur de Glascow — I would not for the world 

neglect things of importance to me, or which concern 

my duty to God ; and hence it is that, seeing an army 

in my country, and a most injurious proclamation 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 303 

issued against me, I have risked this dispatch to the 
king, monsieur my good brother, and to the queen, 
and to all my relatives, wherein I have recommended 
you to them, and begged them to afford you the best 
means for applying yourself to my affairs. I there- 
fore inform you of this, that you may act accordingly ; 
and, whatever may come of it, I beg you on no ac- 
count to be absent from court at a time so important 
as this, but to urge warmly the promised support. 

" The rest I write to you in cipher, but this I wished 
to signify with my own hand, to inform you of the 
need that I and mine have of prompt assistance. In 
short, make one last effort for your Queen and good 
mistress, your country and kindred, and after me, 
for your future prince. The Bishop of Ross has in- 
formed me of a deanery which I have given him to 
keep him in my service, for he has nothing whatever in 
Scotland. I beg him to get this matter settled forth- 
with, and desire that George* be dispatched from 
London without difficulty, for his services merit it, 
and the good example he has set is important at this 
moment. James and Baron are in my employ, and 
are not gone to him but with a promise to be always 
faithful to me. It is, therefore, my intention that 
their wages be paid them, about which you will give 
directions to my treasurer ; and the same in regard to 
Henri Kir in quality of secretary ; and I shall be very 
glad when Roullet returns, and send me, if you can 
obtain it, a passport for Thomas Levingston to come 
to serve me; for should Crafurd go abroad, and I 

* George Douglas. 



304: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

think he will, I shall not have any gentlemen atten- 
dants left, and they will not permit any to come to 
me from Scotland. So, referring to my cipher, and 
what you. will hear from the bearer of this, I will 
conclude, praying God to have you in his holy keeping. 
" Your very good mistress and friend, 

"Mary K." 

The captive Queen again addressed her representa- 
tive at the court of France on the 13th of May, com- 
mending Douglas, who, it will be recollected, served 
her while at Lochleven Castle, and giving a glimpse 
of her imprisonment : 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO THE AEOHBISHOP OF GLASGOW. 

"Monsieur de Glascow — George Douglas having 
obtained permission to visit me, and to make his apol- 
ogies, and to beg that I would arrange his affairs in 
such manner as I may judge proper, provided that 
what I have given be secured to him, should I think 
he merits it, or at least, that he may be put to the 
proof if he has ever offended me, explaining that 
what he wrote to me had no other object than to let 
me know that, rather than I should doubt his fidelity, 
or before he would seek an appointment without my 
leave, he would relinquish all that I had given him, 
or might give him. I have been very glad to afford 
him an opportunity to state his reasons, from the de- 
sire I have that he should give me as much occasion 
to be a good mistress to him in future, and from the 
pleasure I shall feel in recompensing the great and 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 305 

signal service which he has done me, and which, he 
^ays, he wishes to continue to do me as long as he 
Uves, of which I have no doubt; and in consequence 
->f this, I have not only favorably received his excuses 
ind justifications, but relieved him from all fear that 
{ shall ever listen to any report to his disadvantage, 
without first hearing him. I inform you of this pur- 
posely, that you may cause him to be paid quarterly, 
as usual, wherever he may be, according to the capa- 
city under which he is entered, notwithstanding the 
commands I formerly gave you and others to the 
contrary. 

• • • •• • • • • 

" As respects myself, my health is but very indif- 
ferent. I am strictly guarded, and without any means 
:>f arranging my afairs, either here, or in Scotland, 
or abroad, unless M. de la Mothe, by command of the 
king, takes pity upon me. I have but just thirty per- 
sons — men, women, servants and officers — as you 
will perceive by the list and the new orders, which 
will show whether I am a prisoner or not. 

" Roullet has a continual fever, which is the reason 
why I cannot write to you more at length, which 
would be troublesome to me just now. Several of 
my people are ill ; so is also M. de Ross, and so he 
hears nothing about my affairs, and my people are 
badly treated, as M. de Ross will inform you. I beg 
you will represent all this to the king, the queen, his 
mother, and messieurs, his brothers, requesting they 
will send some one to speak in my behalf. 

" Awaiting your reply to this by Kir, I will con 

20 



306 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

elude by recommending myself to your favor, and 
praying God to grant you a long and happy life. 

" Send me a physician, consulting Lusgerie, to 
whom I beg you to remember me ; and as regards your 
own affairs, tell me what you think would suit you, 
and I will write immediately to support you, for I am 
aware of your necessities. 

" I had forgotten to tell you that, as to the order 
for a thousand francs, which is in your hands, you 
must retain eight hundred, and give the remainder to 
Kir, for the purpose of paying his debts. I have also 
granted him another thousand, by virtue of a letter I 
have written to my treasurer, and which will serve as 
an order, until such time as you send one for my sig- 
nature, also for the purpose of paying his debts there; 
these two thousand francs must be deducted from the 
gift which I made him. I beg you will not fail doing 
this ; and for your security, this present, signed by 
my hand, must suffice until you send me an order, 
as I fear my treasurer will not honor any but written 
orders. 

" Your very good mistress and friend, 

"Mary E. 

"If M. the cardinal is at too great a distance, send 
him my letters by some one, and forward to me his 
answer, and meanwhile, let me know by Kir, what is 
your opinion, and what will be the best and safest 
means of securing his money, and the most conveni- 
ent manner for me to pay it." 

July 12th, the Earl of Lennox was formally elected 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 307 

regent of Scotland, while the Duke Chatellerault, and 
the Earls Huntly and Argyle were the leaders of the 
opposing faction, which was nearly equal in strength 
to the royal administration. 

Elizabeth, upon the restoration of the regency, 
evacuated the kingdom, and opened a discussion of 
the treaty with Mary Stuart, which was proposed the 
year before at Perth. 

After a protracted consideration at Chats worth, 
where she had been confined since May, the conditions 
were mainly accepted, and the prisoner's heart was 
wild with hope and gladness. Her weary form be- 
came elastic, and her pale face luminous with antici- 
pated deliverance. To Elizabeth she wrote : 

" No scruple now remains to prevent our sincere 
and reciprocal friendship, which I desire beyond that 
of any other prince, in proof of which I consent to 
place in your hands the clearest jewel and only com- 
fort which God has given me in this world, my only 
and beloved son, whose education, though desired by 
many, is entrusted to you, to be preferred both by 
him and by me to all others. 

" My intention is sincere to observe the conditions 
agreed on between us, and I am resolved hencefor- 
ward, in order to end my unfortunate voyage, to cast 
my anchor in the port of your natural goodness towards 
me. Having recourse, instead of any other surety, to 
the merit of my humble submission and obedience, 
which I offer you as though I had .the honor to be 



308 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

your daughter (as I have to be your sister and »next 
cousin,) unci yielding to none in desire to obey and 
honor you in futu e, may it please you to accept me 
as entirely yours." 

Mary alludes to the treaty in a letter upon the death 
of John Beton, a near friend, whom she sincerely 
mourned : 

TO MONSIEUR DE GLASCOW, MY AMBASSADOR IN FRANCE. 

" From Chats worth, October. 
" Monsieur de Glascow — Instead of relieving you, 
as I hoped, by these letters, from all anxiety, and as- 
suring you by this dispatch of the entire confidence 
which I place in you, and the satisfaction which it 
gave me to receive so high a testimony of the sincerity 
of your conduct, as that given me by the cardinal, 
my uncle, in his letter, I am obliged, to my extreme 
regret, to communicate a mournful circumstance, 
which has caused me the deepest sorrow, as Roullet 
and others of your good friends can testify. In short, 
God has at one stroke afflicted you and me, by taking 
from us your brother, the only minister whom I se- 
lected to comfort and counsel me, in this my long 
affliction and banishment from among my good ser- 
vants and friends. We are bound to praise God for 
all things, a point on which you can better admonish 
me than I you, but more especially ought we to praise 
him,because he died a good Christian, a good man, be- 
loved by every one, regretted both by friends and ene- 
mies : but above all by me, who, having performed the 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 309 

duty, of a kind mistress and friend, in seeing him prop- 
erly treated and attended to, served as a witness of Ms 
good end, solemnizing with my tears the close of his 
life, and accompanying his soul with my prayers. 
Now he is happy, and there, whither we must all hope 
to go, while I am deprived, amid all my afflictions, of 
a faithful and tried servant. The sorrow and grief 
which I know you will feel for his death, would make 
me apprehensive of losing you likewise, so incessant 
are become the attacks of misfortune, were I not 
aware of the good sense you possess, and that your 
fear of God, and your great zeal for my interest, will 
cause you to submit to his will, and to take care of 
yourself in order to serve me. 

" I have made up my mind to have your other 
brother about me, and in the same capacity as the de- 
ceased, thereby confirming the gift made to the latter, 
agreeably to his last wish, which he called me to 
witness. ' I, therefore, beg you to send him to me, 
fully instructed as to what you may desire I should 
do for you and yours, relying upon it that I shall ex- 
ert myself as zealously as for any servant I have, and 
more so. He had two of his relatives and servants 
here ; the one named Arelin Bethem, who was for- 
merly with me, and whom, for his sake, I shall be 
most willing to serve whenever occasion may offer ; 
the other, Thomas Archibald, whom I have taken into 
my household, and am equally disposed to serve. If 
I could do more to show how much I loved and es- 
teemed your late brother, most gladly would I do it. 

" As to yourself, Koullet can bear witness how lit- 



310 MAEY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 

tie heed I gave to those who wished to lessen you in 
my good opinion ; to prove this to yon, I will either 
make Quantly, on whom all the blame is thrown, con- 
fess his fault, for which he shall be rewarded accord- 
ing to his deserts, or give the name of his author, 
which I shall transmit to M. the cardinal and you, so 
that you can consult together, and for your satisfaction 
take such steps as you may consider necessary for 
your honor, and for making public the high opinion 
and confidence I have in you, of which I beg you to 
be assured ; and as a proof that you may not doubt 
the assurance which I give you of my favor, take all 
the care you can of yourself, that you may serve me 
whenever it may please God that I shall return 
to my country, where I hope to have you near me, 
as one of the pillars on which I shall found my gov- 
ernment. 

" If this treaty be soon concluded, I shall be very 
glad to see you here. In the meantime I shall write 
you a full account of my affairs by the bearer of this, 
whom I beg you will send back as soon as possible 
with your answer, as there are certain points concern- 
ing which it is necessary that I should have a reply 
in a month. I have signed an acknowledgment for 
something that I owe him ; I beg you will get his 
business dispatched, and send him back to me 
forthwith. 

" Make my apologies to those to whom I have not 
written with my own hand ; for, since the death of 
Beton, I have had a complaint in one eye, which is 
much inflamed, and I think that the pleasure I take 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 311 

in writing to yon will not amend it, as you will per- 
ceive from the first page. 

" Now, to conclude, I pray God to comfort you, 
and to be assured of my good will and gratitude for 
your good services ; and send your brother to me, for 
I have no one here to attend upon me, and to give 
orders to my household, and, besides, he belongs to 
you ; though I am sure you have a good friend in 
Eoullet, and a friend in Seyton, who will be as ready 
in your absence to render you the services of a good 
friend, as a relation, or any other person that you 
might have about me, both for the affection which 
she bears toward all those whom she knows to have 
been faithful servants to me, and on account of the 
kindness she feels for her good friends, among whom 
she reckoned your deceased brother, whose soul may 
God take into his keeping ; and grant consolation to 
you and to me, an end to my afflictions, or patience to 
bear them according to his good pleasure, to whom 
be praise, in good or in evil. 

" Your very kind mistress and friend, 

"MaeyK." 

But Mary was doomed to speedy disappointment 
Charles IX. of France, and other foreign princes, dis- 
approved of parts of the treaty. Elizabeth embraced 
the embarrassments as a sufficient reason for closing 
the negotiation ; and the promise of a pacific disposal 
of conflicting interests was entirely blasted. Mary 
was beneath a sky of deeper gloom than ever before 
sin™ her captivity. " During the two years and a 



312 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

half which she had been a prisoner in England, she 
had sought to obtain her deliverance and restoration 
by the exertions of her party in Scotland, by her 
marriage with the head of the English nobility, by 
the insurrection of Elizabeth's Catholic subjects, by 
the union of the Scottish lords, sustained by the court 
of France, after Murray's death, and, finally, by an 
accommodation with her fortunate and powerful rival. 
All attempts had, however, failed. The Scotch who 
were faithful to her cause, had been overcome by 
Murray in 1569, and weakened by Elizabeth in 1570 ; 
her marriage with the duke of Norfolk had met with 
but little favor in Scotland, and had been positively 
prohibited in England ; the English Catholics had 
twice revolted, and had been twice defeated ; the ac- 
commodation negotiated at Chatsworth, with so many 
concessions on her part, had been rejected ; and 
France had not only failed to support her, but seemed 
likely to renounce her ancient league with Scotland, 
to form a new alliance with England." 

She now turned to Philip II. of Spain, whom she 
hoped might be persuaded to attempt an invasion of 
England. To do this, she must assure him of the co- 
operation of the Duke of Norfolk at the head of an 
armed force, whenever the allies landed on English 
soil. Mary had maintained a familiar correspondence 
with Norfolk in cipher, unknown to Elizabeth. The 
plague, which was raging in London, entered the 
Tower, and the duke was permitted to retire to a pri- 
vate residence, partially guarded, upon a solemn 
promise to close forever all communication with Mary 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 313 

Stuart, and abandon the design of marriage. "With 
the doom of a traitor impending if he broke his 
pledge, to which he consented, he immediately re- 
newed the most tender expressions of affection for the 
prisoner, and she reciprocated the devotion in her own 
ardent and eloquent language. He was thereupon 
ripe for a conspiracy, the last resort of thwarted am- 
bition. 

The Bishop of Ross, in connection with the Floren- 
tine Ridolfi, matured the plan of operations. Ridolfi 
was a wealthy banker, a relative of the Medici family, 
and a man of great influence with the English nobil- 
ity. The Duke of Norfolk was consulted, and the 
Florentine dispatched to the Duke of Alva, residing 
at Brussels. Through this Catholic counselor and 
general, it was hoped that an appeal to the Pope and 
Philip II., would secure soldiers and arms for dethro- 
ning the Queen of England, and restoring Mary to 
sovereignty. The fading, defeated captive, engaged 
with youthful enthusiasm in the plot. The Duke of 
Alva thus addressed King Philip on the subject : 

" Considering the pity and interest with which the 
unworthy treatment of the Queen of Scotland and 
her adherents cannot fail to inspire your majesty ; 
considering the obligation under which you are placed 
by God, to obtain by all means in your power, the 
triumphant restoration of Catholicism in those islands ; 
considering, moreover, the injuries which the Queen 
of England does in so many ways, and on* so many 
sides, to your majesty and your subjects, without any 
hopes of being on better terms with her, as regards 



314: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

religion and neighborhood, as long as she reigns ; it 
appears to me that the plan of the Queen of Scotland 
and the Duke of Norfolk, if it could be properly car- 
ried out, would be the best method of remedying the 

evil 

" If the secret were not kept, the enterprise would 
fall to the ground ; the lives of both the Queen of 
Scotland and the Duke of Norfolk would be endan- 
gered ; the Queen of England would find the oppor- 
tunity, which she has sought so long, for getting rid 
of her and her partisans ; the hopes of the Catholic 
religion would be crushed forever, and the whole 
would recoil upon your majesty. . . . Wherefore, no 
one can think of advising your majesty to furnish the 
assistance sought of you, under the form in which it 
is requested. But if the Queen of England should 
die, either a natural death or any other death, or if her 
person should be seized without your majesty's con- 
currence, then I should perceive no further difficulty. 
The proposals between the Queen of England and the 
Duke of Anjou would cease, the French would be 
less fearful that your majesty should seek to become 
master of England, the Germans would look upon 
you with less distrust, since you would have no other 
object but to sustain the Queen of Scotland against 
the rival claimants of the crown of England. In that 
case, it would be easy to reduce them to reason before 
other princes could interfere, as we could profit by the 
convenience of the Duke of Norfolk's county, where 
we could disembark the six thousand men he requires, 
not within the forty days during which he could main- 



MAET QTJEEN OF SOOTS. 315 

lain himself unassisted, but within thirty or twenty- 
five days." 

July 7th, 1571, Bidolfi divulged, at the Escurial, 
the scheme of conspiracy. It was to murder Eliza- 
beth while she was traveling, and one James Graffs 
was the accepted assassin ; then revolution would fin- 
ish the papal work in both kingdoms. While the 
mode of destroying the English Queen, and other 
points in the bold design, were under exciting discus- 
sion in the Spanish court, and among interested prin- 
ces, suspicion, first awakened in the mind of the vigi- 
lant Cecil, by letters from Bailly, who was confined 
in Marshalsea prison on account of an open defence 
of Mary, led to a full disclosure of the plot. These 
letters were directed to the Bishop of Boss, and rela- 
ted to the conspiracy. Bailly was removed to the 
Tower and put on the rack. 

He confessed all he knew, establishing the exis- 
tence of the daring combination, but did not reveal 
the names of the guilty parties. In this uncertainty 
the affairs continued, until several months later, when 
civil war in Scotland was resumed with terrific sever- 
ity. The Archbishop of St. Andrews was captured 
by the Earl of Lennox and executed. His death lent 
an unsparing cruelty to the contest. Mary, in a brief 
letter to the Archbishop of Glasgow, disclosed her 
unbroken attachment to the Catholic faith : 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO THE AECHBISHOP OF GLASGOW. 

" Sheffield, 18th September, 1571. 
" M. de Glascow — though John Gordon, the bear- 



316 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

er of this, is a Protestant, jet lie is a faithful servant 
to me, and has written against Knox and the minis- 
ters, in favor of my authority, and I hope that in time 
and in the society of learned men, he will become 
converted ; to this end I beg yon will introduce him 
to the most learned, as Master Riggan began ; and 
besides, my Lord Hnndly, and my lord his father, are 
now at the castle, having lost all their property for 
adhering to my cause. I beg you, therefore to do all 
in your power for the bearer, agreeably to the open 
letter which I have given to the bearer, and to con- 
tinue to him his usual pension, and take pains to gain 
him, for he is a very learned young man, of an amia- 
ble disposition, and related to many worthy persons. 
I have no doubt, if he conld but be sent to an instruc- 
tor who is a Jesuit, he might turn Catholic ; and to 
this end, M. cle Glascow, take care to send a supply 
of money, and keep up a communication with the 
palace, and act as a faithful servant of God and of 
your country. Take care of our country, as I have 
not means of doing so, and be assured that you will 
find in me a kind mistress and friend. Solicit all the 
ambassadors and my relations to join you in interce- 
ding for me, and I pray God to grant his grace to you 
and patience to me. Ask the king to obtain for me a 
confessor, to administer the sacraments, in case God 
should call me by one way or other. 

" Your very good mistress and friend, 

" Mary R." 

The defenders of Mary Stuart in Scotland were re- 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 317 

duced to extremity, and Higliford, a secretary of the 
Duke of Norfolk, volunteered to transmit money and 
dispatches to Lord Herries. . But the dispatches 
treacherously reached Cecil, whom Elizabeth had 
created Lord Burghley. Norfolk, Higliford, and Bar- 
ker were arrested. Higliford revealed the whole 
conspiracy minutely, and the cipher used by the 
duke in his correspondence concerning Ridoln's mis- 
sion. Barker, who was aged and feeble, when he saw 
the rack, confessed, and confirmed the statements of 
Higliford. Norfolk was now hopelessly involved in 
treason. After an attempt at denial, he was over- 
whelmed with the testimony of his friends, and ex- 
claimed, ■ • I am betrayed ! " He then addressed his 
humble petitions for mercy to Elizabeth. The alarmed 
and inflexible Queen resolved to make him an exam- 
ple to the restless nobles, and indicate her royal 
strength and policy to foreign foes. The lords impli- 
cated by the letters were arrested, and the trial of 
Norfolk appointed. January 14, 1572, he was sum- 
moned before a jury of twenty-seven peers, in West- 
minster Hall. 

" The duke appeared before his judges with all the 
dignity of his rank, and displayed greater firmness 
of mind than he had previously manifested. He was 
accused of having conspired to deprive the Queen of 
her crown, and consequently, of life ; of having 
sought to marry Mary Stuart, (whom he had termed 
an adulteress and murderess,) out of ambition, that 
he might use the claims she possessed to procure his 
own accession to the throne of England ; of having 



318 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

aided the Queen's enemies in Scotland ; and of having 
plotted on the Continent with the Pope and the King 
of Spain, to change the religion, and overthrow the 
government of England. His answer to these char- 
ges was skilful and plausible. Admitting all that he 
could not disprove, he confessed that he had been 
aware of matters which he ought not to have known, 
but to which he had never been willing to consent. 
Although he repudiated indignantly all thought of 
treason against the Queen, and alleged his inaction 
as a proof of his innocence, he was unanimously found 
guilty by his peers, and, on the 16th of January, con- 
demned to be hanged, drawn and quartered. On 
hearing his sentence, he protested that he should die 
as faithful to his Queen as any man living; then 
turning to his judges, he said with emotion ; ' My 
lords, seeing you have put me out of your company, 
I trust shortly to be in better company. I will not 
desire any of you all to make any petition for my 
life ; I will not desire to live : I am at a point. Only 
I beseech you, my lords, to be humble suitors to the 
Queen's majesty for my poor orphan children, that it 
will please her majesty to be good to them, and to 
take order for the payment of my debts, and some 
consideration of my poor servants.' 

" On his return to the Tower, he wrote to the Queen 
a letter expressive of the deepest affliction and the 
most heartfelt repentance, recommending to her gen- 
erosity his children, c who,' he said, ' now they have 
neither father nor mother, will find but few friends.' 
He did not cease to deplore the connection which he 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 319 

had formed with the Queen of Scotland, and, in bitter 
truthfulness, he remarked, 'that nothing that any- 
body goeth about for her, nor that she doeth for her- 
self, prospereth.' " 

Mary, closely confined in the Castle of Sheffield, 
deprived of company and fresh air, sank in health 
and spirits under this fatal blow to her wild and soar- 
ing hopes. Elizabeth filled to the brim her cup of 
woe, by hurling long delayed reproaches upon the 
captive ; accusing her of ungoverned passions, ingrat- 
itude, and the ruin of Norfolk. Mary Stuart, true to 
her ancestral blood, retorted, with bitter charges of 
deception and cruelty. She did not conceal her dis- 
appointment in the failure of the conspiracy, and said 
" she determined to allow herself to be fed with hopes 
no longer." She expressed patience, resignation to 
God's will, and courage to meet death. 

She affirmed that she did not entertain the thought 
of marrying Norfolk without the consent of the coun- 
cil of England, and added respecting him and other 
nobles, " that she should think herself worthy to be 
universally reputed ungrateful, and of bad natural 
disposition, if she did not employ all the means which 
God had left her in this world to mitigate the anger 
of the Queen of England against the Duke of Nor- 
folk, and the other nobles who had got into trouble 
by bearing her some good will, and if she did not 
supplicate her good sister to grant them her peace, or 
at least prevent them suffering any pain on her ac- 
count." Elizabeth vacillated on the sentence of the 
duke's execution. Justice impelled her to sign his 



320 MAEY QTJEEN OF SCOTS. 

death-warrant ; then the remembrance of his rela- 
tionship and high position, would induce her to revoke 
it. The House of Commons, in which the Puritans 
had the ascendency, meanwhile demanded the exe- 
cution of Mary Stuart ; a step that would " lay the 
axe at the root of the evil." Elizabeth refused to " put 
to death the bird, which, to escape the pursuit of the 
hawk, had fled to her for protection." But she no 
longer hesitated as to the fate of Norfolk. May 31st, 
she signed the fatal warrant ; and at 8 o'clock on the 
morning of June 2d, he was led to the scaffold upon 
Tower Hill. The nobler qualities of his character 
shone forth finely beneath the gathering shadows of 
the spirit-land. His calm and unshrinking approach 
to the margin of dissolution, chained the attention of 
all spectators. In a long address, he avowed his sin- 
cere devotion to the Protestant religion ; thanked 
Elizabeth for her promised kindness to his offspring ; 
and conscious of his own ambitious aberrations from 
loyalty, he uttered these words of warning : " They 
that have factions, let them beware that they be given 
over betimes. Seek not to deviate God's' doings, lest 
God prevent yours." The people were affected to 
tears. The duke then offered earnest prayer, and re- 
fusing to have his eyes covered, serenely laid his head 
on the block. The descending axe did its work, and 
the troubled brain of the conspirator was at rest for- 
ever ! Mary Stuart's cause in England also expired 
on that scaffold. Insurrections and plots had succeed- 
ed each other in dark and sanguinary colors. Norfolk 
resembled Darnley in an indecision which ruined his 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 321 

most promising plans, but in everything else, was 
vastly the superior of the murdered King. Francis 
II., Chatelard, the mad lover, Bothwell, and Norfolk, 
had left Mary's side, and still she lived, weak in frame 
and strong in ambition. 

Manifold and oppressive must have been the recol- 
lections that thronged the mind of the illustrious cap- 
tive in her lonely apartments ! The gay dreams of a 
French court, the scenes of festivity and violence in 
Scotland's capital, the excitements of misplaced and 
lawless affection, lay in the past ; while the blackness 
of despair hung menacingly on the future. Unfor- 
tunate Queen, whose beauty was the rainbow upon 
the bosom of a perpetual storm I 

N* 21 



CHAPTER VIII 

CHANGES IN THE REGENCY OF SCOTLAND MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW 

ITS EFFECT ON ELIZABETH, AND MARY'S PROSPECTS DESIGNS AGAINST 

MARY DEATH OF KNOX THE TOTAL OVERTHROW OF HER PARTY IN 

SCOTLAND LETTER TO ELIZABETH LENITY OF THE ENGLISH QUEEN 

CORRESPONDENCE OF MARY STUART ANOTHER CONSPIRACY LET- 
TERS TO ARCHBISHOP OF GLASGOW EXECUTION OF MORTON, REGENT OF 

SCOTLAND A NEW CONSPIRACY ITS FAILURE LETTER OF MARY TO 

ELIZABETH, 

The Ean of Lennox had been shot bj Mary's par- 
tisans, and the Earl of Mar unanimously appointed 
his successor, at a meeting, of the King's nobles the 
next day. Unable to crush the faction of Mary Stu- 
art, Elizabeth effected a truce between the hostile 
armies. A treaty with France calmed her fears of 
trouble with Charles IX., when suddenly, as a falling 
thunderbolt, came the tidings of the merciless butch- 
ery of St. Bartholomew. A shriek of horror rose 
from Protestant England. The Queen assembled her 
council, and denied for some days audience to the 
French ambassador. When she relented, and con- 
sented to see him, she appeared with the ladies of her 
court, dressed in deep mourning. A sepulchral si- 
lence pervaded the apartment, and sealed every lip. 
"While Fenelon passed through the crowd, the eyes of 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 828 

the courtiers fell, and not a smile illumined his ad- 
vance toward the haughty and solemn sovereign. 
She expressed her sad surprise at the permission of 
his King to that Papal slaughter of Protestants, and 
her apprehension of betrayal, notwithstanding the 
treaty. She immediately fortified Dover and the Isle 
of Wight, levied troops, and made preparations for 
invincible self-defence. Marv Stuart became an ob- 
ject of increasing solicitude and vigilance. She was 
the star of Catholic empire in Scotland and England. 
Elizabeth determined, as her only security, to keep 
her captive in perpetual imprisonment. Divines and 
jurists united in proving Mary worthy of death, and 
both houses of Parliament desired to bring in a bill 
of attainder, which the Queen, to her honor, rejected. 
Mary was again visited by English lords, and ques- 
tioned upon the charges preferred against her. She 
denied any designed hostility to Elizabeth, in the pro- 
posed alliance with Norfolk, and affirmed that Pidolfi's 
embassay aimed only at the deliverance of Scotland^ 
and her relations to Philip II. and Pius IX. The 
Queen of England disregarded the explanations, and" 
entered upon an experiment similar to that often re- 
peated vainly in Mary's experience. A plan was 
secretly laid to strengthen Protestantism in Scotland., 
by harmonizing antagonistic leaders, and delivering 
the royal prisoner to them for execution, upon their 
urgent solicitation. Sir Henry Killegrew, brother-in- 
law of Cecil, (Lord Burghley,) left England on this 
mission, September 7th, in the fever of excitement 
which followed the intelligence of the Parisian tra- 



324 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

gedy. John Knox was in Edinburgh, smitten with 
apoplexy, and evidently near death. The delibe- 
rate murder of seventy thousand Protestants, among 
them distinguished friends, roused the wasting ener- 
gies of the great Reformer. He was carried to the 
church, and mounting his pulpit, poured forth a tor- 
rent of eloquent execration on the slayers of his 
brethren. His influence aided the cause of Killegrew. 
The Earls Morton and Mar accepted the proposition 
of Elizabeth on these conditions : 

"That the Queen of England should take their 
young King under her protection: that his rights 
should not be invalidated by any sentence which 
might be passed upon his mother, and that they should 
be maintained by a declaration of the English Par- 
liament : that a defensive alliance should be establish- 
ed between the two kingdoms : that the Earls of Hun- 
tingdon, Bedford or Essex, should be present at 
Mary's execution with two or three thousand men, 
and should afterwards assist the troops of the young 
King to reduce the city of Edinburgh : and finally, 
that that fortress should be placed in the regent's 
hands, and that England should pay all the arrears 
due to the Scottish troops." 

The extravagant terms of the noblemen, with the 
sudden death of the regent, defeated the scheme. 
November 24th, Morton was elected to the regency 
of Scotland. Upon that same day in Edinburgh, 
John Knox was calmly waiting for his departure from 



MAEY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 325 

earth. He had given to the session of his church a 
dying charge of great eloquence and power, which 
deeply impressed the minds of the reverent specta- 
tors. With a kindling eye and difficult breathing, he 
said, in vindication of his ministerial career : 

" The clay approaches, and is now before the door, 
for which I have frequently and vehemently thirsted, 
when I shall be released from my great labors and in- 
numerable sorrows, and shall be with Christ. And 
now, God is my witness, whom I have served in the 
spirit, in the gospel of his Son, that I have taught no- 
thing but 'the true and solid doctrine of the gospel of 
the Son of God, and have had it for my only object to 
instruct the ignorant, to confirm the faithful, to comfort 
the weak, the fearful, and the distressed, by the prom- 
ises of grace, and to fight against the proud and rebel- 
lious by the divine threatenings. I know that many 
have frequently complained, and do still loudly com- 
plain, of my too great severity ; but God knows that 
my mind was always void of hatred to the persons of 
those against whom I thundered the severest judg- 
ments. I cannot deny that I felt the greatest abhor- 
rence at the sins in which they indulged, but still, I 
kept this one thing in view, that, if possible, I might 
gain them to the Lord. What influenced me to 
utter whatever the Lord put into my mouth, so boldly, 
and without respect of persons, was a reverential 
fear of my God, who called and of his grace appoint- 
ed me to be a steward of divine mysteries, and a be- 
lief that he will demand an account of the manner in 
which I have discharged the trust committed to me, 



326 MAEY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 

when I shall stand at last before his tribunal. I pro- 
fess, therefore, before God, and before his holy angels, 
that I never made merchandize of the sacred word 
of God, never studied to please men, never indulged 
my own private passions or those of others, but faith- 
fully distributed the talents entrusted to me for the 
edification of the church over which I watched. 
Whatever obloquy wicked men may cast on me re- 
specting this point, I rejoice in the testimony of a 
good conscience. In the mean time, my dear breth- 
ren, do you persevere in the eternal truth of the gos- 
pel : wait diligently on the flock over which the Lord 
hath set you, and which he redeemed with the blood 
of his only begotten Son. And thou, my dearest 
brother Lawson, fight the good fight, and do the work 
of the Lord joyfully and resolutely. The Lord from 
on high bless you, and the whole church of Edinburgh, 
against whom, as long as they persevere in the word 
of truth which they have heard of me, the gates of 
hell shall not prevail." 

Besides his wife, Bannatyne, Campbell of Kinyean- 
cleuch, and Johnston of Elphingston, and Dr. Preston, 
his intimate friends, watched in turn at his bed-side. 
Campbell inquired if he were in pain. " It is no 
painful pain, but such a pain as shall soon, I trust, 
put an end to the battle. I must leave the care of 
my wife and children to you, to whom you must be 
husband in my room." Soon after, his vision began 
to fail, and he desired his wife to read the 15th chap- 
ter of first Corinthians. He listened devoutly to the 
message of God, and then exclaimed, " Is not that a 



MARY QUE EN OF SCOTS. 327 

comfortable chapter ? O what sweet and salutary 
consolation the Lord has afforded me from that chap- 
ter ! " A few moments later he said, " Now for the 
last time I commend my soul, spirit and body, (touch- 
ing three of his fingers,) into thy hand, O Lord ! " 

Lingering longer than he expected, he added to his 
wife, " Go read where I cast my first anchor ; " mean- 
ing the 17th chapter of St John. After a terrible 
spiritual conflict, he replied to the inquiry, if he heard 
the prayers offered in his behalf: "Would to God 
that you and all men had heard them as I have heard 
them ; I praise God for that heavenly sound." About 
eleven o'clock at night, he sighed heavily, and said, 
" Now it is come ! " He was speechless ; but when 
desired to give a sign of peace, he raised both hands, 
and expired as placidly as an infant falling asleep. He 
was nearly sixty-seven ; less worn with age than with 
conflicts and trials, whose field of battle and storm is 
the immorality within. He had bared his breast before 
the enemies of his beloved church and native land. 
The skeptical sneer of partial historians, falls power- 
less on the death-scene of such a man. Gifted and 
heroic, sometimes bold to a fault, he was beloved by 
the pious burghers, respected by the nobility, and 
universally lamented by the Presbyterian church. 
He discovered before his death, the coming complete 
triumph of the Protestant faith, under the energetic 
Morton. 

The Castle of Edinburgh, after an obstinate and 
brave resistance, fell into the hands of the besiegers, 
May 31st ; and the last fortress of Mary's dishearten- 



328 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

ed troops was a scathed and battered citadel, within 
whose walls were only suppliants for mercy. Not- 
withstanding much earnest interposition to save them, 
the Laird of Grange and his brother, Sir James Kir- 
kaldy, were led to the scaffold at the Cross of Edin- 
burgh, Angnst 3d, 1573. They died loyal to Mary 
Stuart, and with the unshrinking courage of a sincere 
persuasion of past well-doing. With those strong 
adherents was lost hopelessly the cause of Mary Stu- 
art in Scotland. She yielded to the fury of the tem- 
pest, and was the victim of extreme depression. Since 
St. Bartholomew's day, she had suffered the severities 
of close captivity; forbidden correspondence and the 
visits of friends. Now that her faction was annihila- 
ted, more liberty was permitted. And she turned 
her thoughts to an altered tone of pleading with Eliz- 
abeth. With submissive air, she sought to gain by 
direct means, what she had attempted by force and 
stratagem. She wrote, at this period, the following 
letter : 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO QUEEN ELIZABETH. 

"Madam, my good sister — I consider myself very 
unfortunate in having found, in my adversity, so 
many persons ready to injure me by all sorts of means, 
and wrongfully; for I have not, that I know of, ever 
done anything to deserve their displeasure. Yet, they 
are every day making some fresh report to you, in 
order to make you suspicious of, and angry with me, 
even at the moment when I am most anxious to avoid 
the least occasion of giving you offence. I state this, 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 3^0 

because, ever since you were pleased to send to me 
Mr. Wade, and other commissioners, who informed 
me of part of your anger against me, I have endeav- 
ored not to speak, to write, or even to think of any- 
thing that I could suppose likely to give you any 
cause whatever to be displeased with me. 

" Thus, when I heard of the loss of my Castle of 
Edinburgh, and other reverses, perceiving that peo- 
ple took pleasure in talking more about them than 
was necessary for comforting me, I flatly refused to 
converse upon that subject, not wishing to make my 
misfortunes a pastime to any one, and not being able 
to remedy them ; and also expressly not to furnish 
occasion to any one to put a malicious construction 
on my words ; and yet you daily heard some false 
report concerning me, as I perceive from the letters 
of De la Mothe Fenelon, ambassador of the King,, my 
good brother. But if you would have the kindness 
to reserve an ear for me, before condemning me on 
the faith of those who, by such reports, strive to in- 
cense you against me, you would soon find that they 
have no other foundation for their statements than a 
malicious desire to injure me. 

" You have been informed that I had attempted to 
bribe your subjects with my money ; but if you will 
please to inquire, you will find it a mere supposition, 
and that, as I have already remarked, in writing to 
the said Sr. de la Mothe Fenelon, I have too many 
urgent calls upon the income I receive, to be able 
to bring more money hither than what is absolutely 
necessary to pay my servants, and provide for my 



330 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

wants. If it had been agreeable to you, you might 
have seen this from the account which I have kept 
of my moneys, of which I have reserved but a very 
small sum for the above purpose. 

" For the rest, it appears unfortunate for my affairs 
that I have gained so many friends, seeing the ill turns 
that are done me on all sides ; and, though it is assert- 
ed that I complain of being watched too closely, and 
that I am, nevertheless, continually gaining persons 
to my side, I assure you, madam, that I neither see 
nor speak to any creature in the world, with the ex- 
ception of those under whose charge you have placed 
me, and that with as much reserve as possible ; for, 
as for any complaint or remonstrance that I have 
made to them, Gi-od knows that they have not obliged 
me by any remedy they have applied ; and even when 
they have granted me anything, at the request of the 
said Sr. de la Mothe Fenelon, it has always been so 
thwarted that I have been no better for it. I do not 
say this to complain of any one, for I have learned to 
suffer, since it is your pleasure, and I shall never at- 
tribute to any but you the good or evil that befalls 
me in this country, having come and placed myself 
in your hands, as being my surest refuge, for the hon- 
or I have to be your nearest kinswoman and neigh- 
bor, and have no right to do otherwise than you com- 
mand ; and I should be very simple, having lived so 
long in trouble, if I did or said, in any house in Eng- 
land, what I wished not to be referred to you and to 
your council, were my affection other than it is 
toward you, seeing that I have access to none but 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 331 

those whom I know to be charged, to watch me. I 
suffered too severely at Bourton — recollect, if yon 
please, the charity that was done me there — not to 
be on my guard elsewhere, though I may not appear 
to be so. 

"But to conclude, I feel my conscience so clear, that 
whatever reports may be made of my actions, provi- 
ded people only adhere to the truth, I will give you 
no cause to be dissatisfied with me, and I therefore 
beseech you not to believe anything that may be told 
you to the contrary ; for, I assure you, that I have 
neither written nor said more than I have said to your 
commissioners, or written to yourself, and in proof 
of my innocence in something, if you should be 
pleased to adopt some good expedient, that with your 
favor I might go to France or Scotland, things being 
by you reestablished for my honor and safety, you 
will find that I should feel myself greatly obliged to 
you, and I will gladly prepare to quit this country, 
that I may manifest elsewhere, when at liberty, my 
affection to you, which people strive to disguise from 
you, to deprive me of the opportunity of defending 
myself in your presence, in which the others have 
time and place to accuse me. Be this as it may, I 
beseech you in future to believe nothing concerning 
me, and not to credit or hearken to anything against 
me, but what you have sufficient proof of; for I de- 
sire nothing more than to do what is agreeable to you, 
if you will be pleased to grant me the means, and 
permit me to have access to you, that I may lay be- 
fore you my grievances ; for, till that moment, I shall 



332 MAKT QUE EN OF SCOTS. 

experience nothing but crosses: and fearing that Ihave 
already fatigued you by this long letter, I will send 
the rest of my remonstrances to Monsieur do la Mothe 
Fenelon, and present my humble recommendation* 
to your good favor,praying God to grant you, mad- 
am, good health and a long and very happy life. 
From the Castle of Qhffeild, the 20 February, 1574. 
" Your vc.vy affectionate and good sister and cousin, 

" Maky K." 

Elizabeth, in return, allowed her to extend her 
walks into the park and gardens of Sheffield. Tlio 
humid air of her prison had induced rheumatism in 
her arms, and she was wasted with a liver-complaint, 
whose symptoms were aggravated by her incarcera- 
tion. According to her request, she was therefore 
permitted to visit the baths of Buxton, not far from 
Sheffield ; where she relinquished conspiracies and 
dangerous correspondence, for harmless amusements. 
She wrote to the Archbishop of Glasgow two or three 
letters, which display her business forethought and 
new employments : 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO THE AUCIIUISIIOP OF GLASGOW. 

" May, 1574. 
"Monsieur de G-lascow — "None of my subjects or 
servants has a greater dislike to enter into disputes 
than myself; yet I would do SO both with the one and 
the other, when I Love them and wish to make use of 
them, communicating my will and what I think it 
necessary for them to know, in order to dispose them 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 333 

to fulfill it voluntarily ; on the other hand, as far as lies 
in my power, and I see that it is reasonable, I shall 
have great pleasure in gratifying them when they so- 
licit emolument, honor, and advancement of me. 
As I perceive from your letters that you are mistaken 
in regard to my last, which you think too harsh, this 
makes me write to you in the style of a mistress, 
purposely that you may not doubt that all they con- 
tained was according to my command ; for I never 
write letters that others dictate. They may, indeed, 
prepare them, but I look over and correct them if they 
convey not my meaning, before I sign them. You 
cannot harbor this doubt in the present instance, for 
my secretary is so ill that I am obliged to write all 
my dispatches with my own hand ; but I am of the 
same opinion as he who writes for you, whom you 
will command to write in milder terms another time, 
for I do not wish to be compelled to write to you 
otherwise than as befitting so faithful a subject, and 
a minister diligent and zealous in obeying the com- 
mands of a good mistress, and to remove all occasion 
for doubt or ignorance, or discontent, which I suspect 
some persons are striving to put into your head, know- 
ing that I would not take the same trouble to satisfy 
them as for you, whose services are so valuable to me. 
" I will tell you what both your brothers told me 
to write to you, and I assure you, without meaning to 
offend you — that you may believe this on the word 
of her whose testimony alone ought to be positive 
proof — I have still some of your letters which I re- 
ceived at "Winkfield and other places, in which you 



334: MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

informed me that M. the cardinal had placed the seats 
in your hands until I should appoint a chancellor, 
and that you would use such authority in the best 
manner you possibly could to my advantage, hoping 
that, whoever succeeded you, he would find his road 
already marked out. You, at the same time, recom- 
mended to me a brother-in-law, or some other rela- 
tion of the treasurer's, and Duvergier. I appointed 
Duvergier on this condition ; that he should reside in 
Paris, and come over here to receive my orders ; fori 
should have been vexed had it been given to any one 
without my knowledge, as I formerly wrote to you. 
In short, you never expressed a wish to me to keep 
the seals for any time, or led me to suppose you would 
feel gratified by having them given to you ; and sure- 
ly, during the two years which elapsed between my 
gift, or at least the promise by letter written with my 
own hand to Duvergier, and his entering into office, 
you had sufficient time to let me know if you wished 
for the appointment or not ; for I assure you that I 
should have preferred you, had you frankly asked me 
for it ; but naturally supposing that you would have 
expressed your wish to that effect, if you had formed 
any, I did, as I always told you it was my intention 
to do, appoint a chancellor, and I am sorry you should 
have so long deferred informing me of your dissatis- 
faction, for which there is no remedy. 

"As to what you tell me that I am censured for it, 
inform me who and what, for it is your duty, and not 
to suffer anything to be said in your presence out of 
pique or caprice against me, and I will let them know 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 335 

what I think of it. They are not very discreet who 
wilfully intermeddle, and try to sow discord between 
an old experienced minister and his mistress, who 
ought to understand matters better than they do, 
clever as they conceive themselves to be. Tell them 
that, whenever I shall look after them, their bad con- 
duct will be discovered ; that you will be the first to 
expose it, and then each must answer for himself. 
As for yourself, you say that you have no fear of being 
made a slave, but are determined to follow my di- 
rections in everything, by which you shall not lose 
either profit, honor, or advancement ; for you shall 
be preferred to every one whatsoever ; and in future, 
whenever you have any desire for an appointment or 
other favor, be not afraid to let me know it, for neith- 
er you nor any other person shall ever have anything 
in my gift but from myself, if I can help it ; but, if 
you are presented with anything from another quarter, 
as I have so often solicited, I shall consider myself 
greatly obliged. As far as I can see, the appointment 
would only have annoyed you, for you would have 
gained nothing but ill-will, if you had said absolutely 
that you would follow my instructions as punctually 
as I wish; for people over there like to do only just 
what they please. If I could but speak to you, I 
would soon remove any unpleasant impression by ex- 
plaining the cause of my dissatisfaction, which in no 
way concerns you ; nor in my choice of chancellor 
has any person a right to find fault with me, or to ac- 
cuse me of monopoly, as you say ; but I hate those 
whom persons over there would wish to appoint, 



336 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

though, no one was officious enough to propose or to 
persuade me otherwise than what I have already 
written to you, which I shall not repeat — and this is 
the truth. 

" I have been informed that, as soon as the news 
was known that Duvergier had a passport to come to 
me, it was said in your lodging that Roullet had ob- 
tained it from him ; wherein he was unjustly suspect- 
ed, for the poor fellow never opened his mouth to 
speak to me concerning it, and would have been glad 
to make the journey himself, if possible, feeling him- 
self already attacked by that disorder which has since 
reduced him to his present state. In short, it was my 
own act and deed ; but as he is so odious to you, that 
you have refused to introduce him, as I requested, I 
will not urge you further. At all events, he will not 
fail to side with you as I have commanded him, and 
to take your advice whenever you choose to give 
it. I never intended that he should be either your 
superior or equal in the council, where, in the absence 
of my uncle, the Cardinal of Lorraine, you, as my 
representative, hold the first place, and where you 
are invested with authority to see to it that my affairs 
are conducted according to my orders, which I am 
certain you will implicitly follow, by way of setting 
a good example, more especially as you are my natu- 
ral subject. I beg, therefore, that henceforth I may 
not again see any expressions in your letters which 
savor of dispute and altercation, nor hear any more 
about the dissatisfaction and disgust which prevent 
you from fulfilling the duties that you are charged 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 337 

with, as my present situation requires. For the rest, 
if there are any who murmur at my orders, tell them 
that at the present moment, what I most desire in my af- 
fairs is, to know those who are disposed to obey me, that 
I may employ them, with the assured intention of re- 
warding them ; and those who would fain manage my 
affairs according to their own fancy, that they must 
change their conduct, or I shall persuade myself that 
it is not so much for my interest as for their own, that 
they wish to serve me. I want to see if, because I 
am absent or in prison, my orders are to be slighted 
or not, and I am willing to listen to the opinions of 
each, in order to follow the best counsel, which God 
will give me grace to discern ; but wherever I find 
any confederacy formed to counteract my intentions, 
I shall hold as suspicious all those who belong to 
it, and only employ such as pursue a different course. 
" I have made a declaration of my intentions, in 
answer to the replies made me to the instructions and 
estimates which I gave to my chancellor. I send it 
you for the purpose of showing and making it known, 
as herein expressed ; this I beg you to do, and to con- 
form to my wish, which, if I could communicate to 
V ou in any other way than openly, you would approve 
of it, and be convinced, as I before told you, that 
nothing was done with the intention of disparaging 
your faithful and agreeable services. I would most 
willingly have sought to procure permission for you 
to come over, had. I not proof that it would be de- 
nied me, and were not all my requests viewed with 
more and more suspicion. I will, however, do all I 
O 22 



338 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

can, and I beg you will do the same on your part. 
As for the money which you delivered to the English 
ambassador, take care and make him return it, and 
never again place any more in his hands, nor anything 
else, for they will not be answerable for anything. 
If my servants are urgent for their wages, I shall be 
reduced to great straits. I shall soon send a memoran- 
dum of those I wish to be paid, the same as they were 
entered in my estimate. Look to this, and take care 
that the assignations, which I sent by Duvergier, tor 
wages and gifts to my servants here with me, be im- 
mediately dispatched by the treasurer before anything 
else ; for until this be done, I will not either give to 
or recourpense any other, excepting the person to 
whom the Bishop of Ross lent a hundred crowns. I 
am very sorry that they have not been better satisfied, 
and without my knowledge. If you can do anything 
for them, I will most willingly allow for it, rather 
than remain indebted to them as I am. I recommend 
also to you, old Curie ; he is an old and faithful ser- 
vant, and his son is faithful and diligent in my service. 
I have assigned him some money, to be employed in 
the way that he knows of. See to it that he is prompt- 
ly paid ; and, if opportunity offers of providing for 
any of his children, you will do me a great kindness 
by seeking the means. But that I may have an an- 
swer to this dispatch how my servants will be paid, I 
will send a list of those whom I wish to be paid first 
in France, among whom I shall not forget your ser- 
vants, particularly the good old man Warkar, whom 
I have known for a very long time. My ecuyer de 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 339 

cuisine, notwithstanding all the orders I had given 
him, has not been able to get any money. I beg you, 
more especially as I have recommended, for my own 
safety, to be cautious in regard to my victuals, to let 
this be immediately settled ; and tell Hoteman to re- 
ceive his wages, and keep them for my sake ; and 
speak to Cheminon, and inquire if there be any means 
of assisting him to recover part of his money, which 
was received but mismanaged, otherwise it will be 
necessary for him to go over himself, which he has 
already asked leave of me to do ; and I assure you I 
should miss him very much. I am not out of danger 
if my food is not closely watched, and he is the only 
person here who has the care of it ; besides, as I have 
no apothecary, he makes up all the medicines for me 
and my household ; and I have not been very ill since 
last Lent, when I suffered a good deal from the cold 
and want of exercise. 

"Roullet has sent me a letter from Monsieur de 
Flavigny, which I have read ; but, as the said Roullet 
cannot answer him, I beg you to make my recom- 
mendations to him, and to assure him that if ever I 
have the luck to recover my liberty, I shall remind 
him of his promise to be a courtier, at least in my 
company, where he will always be wished for and wel- 
come, as his virtues and amiable disposition deserve. 
I recommend to you my two orphans, Annibal and 
William Douglas, as you would wish me to do for 
those in whom you are interested. I am writing for 
some articles which I want ; order them to be for- 
warded to me as soon as possible, and money for 



340 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

my household. I am also writing to monsieur, my 
brother-in-law; to the Queens mesdames, my good 
mother and my sister ; to Monsieur le Due, and Mon- 
sieur de Montmorency ; deliver my letters to them, and 
speak to them in behalf of Adam Gordon, to obtain 
for him the place of captain in the Scotch guards, M. 
de Losse being promoted to a higher situation. You 
are aware how highly this would gratify me. I beg 
you also to recommend to them Lord "Walhton, and 
render him all the service you can. In short, I beg 
you to solicit, wherever you can, for the good treat- 
ment of all my faithful subj ects and servants in France. 
If I had the means, I would not importune the King 
to aid them ; but having none, I cannot have recourse 
to any but him, in virtue of the ancient alliance be- 
tween our countries, and the honor I have of being 
his sister. I beg, also, that in all changes and new 
edicts, you will not be afraid to require that there be 
nothing prejudicial to my dowry, as in the case of 
those tabellionages, and solicit the aid and favor of M. 
the Cardinal of Bourbon, of Montpensier, and of M. de 
Montmorency, to whom I wish you to address your- 
self as familiarly as to one of my relations, wherever 
you shall need counsel and favor, to aid you in re- 
monstrating about my affairs in that quarter. I will 
pray God to give you, Monsieur de Glascow, healthy 
and a long and happy life. 

" Your very good mistress and friend, 

"Mart K. 

" I beg you to send me some genuine terra sigillata, 
if it is to be had for money ; if not, ask M. the cardi- 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 34:1 

nal, my uncle, for some ; or, if lie lias none, rather 
than have recourse to the Queen, my mother-in-law, 
or to the King, a bit of fine unicorn's horn, as I am in 
great want of it.* 

"From what I have heard, you have misunderstood 
what I wrote to you, for I never said that your broth- 
ers had specially solicited me to take the seals from 
you, but that I would permit you to retire altogether, 
which I refused ; and, taking of the seals, they always 
denied that it was a thing from which you derived 
much profit. Your brother writes to you as if he had 
been accused of having done you some ill turn. I as- 
sure you, and can testify, that he never thought such 
a thing ; but he and your deceased brother expressed 
themselves to me in the terms above-mentioned ; and 
about this you may satisfy yourself without letting 
La Landouse and suchlike, interfere in correcting the 
Magnificat. I will inform you particularly of every 
thing. What I here tell you, is enough to satisfy you 
that I have done nothing to cause you displeasure ; 
but I am not pleased with those lawsuits, carried on 
where every one must be a judge, and in the end I 
shall grow angry with them, which is what I have no 
wish to do. Duvergier had my letters before I had 
let you know that I had given him them ; he will 
show them to you." 

* The superstitious notions of those days attributed, we presume, 
extraordinary virtues to the imaginary as well as to the real sub- 
stances for which the Queen writes in this postscript. 



342 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO QUEEN ELIZABETH. 

" June 9th, [1574.] 
" Madam, my good sister — as you have been pleas- 
ed to intimate to Monsieur de la Mothe Fenelon, am- 
bassador of the King, monsieur my good brother, that 
you were gratified by the liberty which I took to pre- 
sent to you, through him, a trifling piece of my work, 
I cannot refrain from assuring you, by these lines, 
how happy I should esteem myself, if you would be 
pleased to permit me to make it my duty to recover 
by any means whatever, some portion of your good 
graces, in which I most earnestly wish you to be 
pleased to aid me by some intimation in what way 
you think I can gratify and obey you ; whenever it is 
your pleasure, I shall always be ready to give you 
proofs of the honor and friendship I bear you. I was 
very glad that you were pleased to accept the sweet- 
meats which the said Sieur de la Mothe presented to 
you ; I am now writing to Duvergier, my chancellor, 
to send me a better supply, which you will do me a fa- 
vor in making use of; and would to God that you would 
accept my services in more important things, in which 
I should show such readiness to please, that, in a short 
time, you would have a better opinion of me ; in the 
meantime, I will wait patiently for some favorable 
news from you, which I have been expecting for such 
a long time. And that I may not be troublesome, I 
will communicate what I have further to say through 
Monsieur de la Mothe, being assured that you will 
not credit him less than myself; and having kissed, 
your hands, I pray God to grant you, madam, my 



MAEY QUEEI OF SOOTS. 343 

good sister, health and a long and happy life. From 
Sheffield, this ixth of Jnne. 

" Your very affectionate sister and cousin, 

"IaeyE." 

the queen of soots to the aeohbishop of glasgow. 

" From Sheffield, the 9th of July, [1574.] 
" Monsieur de Glascow — I have nothing particular 
to say at present, except that, thank God, I am in bet- 
ter health than I was before using the baths, and 
when I last wrote you. I beg you will procure for 
me some turtle doves, and some Barbary fowls. I 
wish to try if I can rear them in this country, as your 
brother told me that, when he was with you, he had 
raised some in a cage, as also some red partridges ; 
and send me, by the person who brings them to Lon- 
don, instructions how to manage them. I shall take 
great pleasure in rearing them in cages, which I do 
all sorts of little birds I can meet with. This will be 
amusement for a prisoner, particularly since there are 
none in this country, as I wrote to you not long ago. 
Pray see to it, that my directions be complied with, 
and I will pray God to have you in his keeping. 
" Your very good mistress and friend, 

" Maet &" 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO THE SAME. 

" From Sheffield, the 18th July, [1574.] 
" Monsieur de Glascow — M. de la Mothe Fenelon, 
ambassador of the King, monsieur, my brother, hav- 
ing given me the mournful intelligence of the decease 



34:4: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

of the said prince,* whom God absolve, you may 
imagine the grief I felt for the loss of so good a brother 
and friend ; and if I had sooner had the means, I 
should have commanded you to go to visit and con- 
dole, in my name, with the Queen-madam, my good 
mother, and with the Queens, my good sisters, which 
I am sure you have not failed to do, so well knowing 
my intentions ; and having since heard lately, from 
the said M. de la Mothe Fenelon, that there are hopes 
at present, of the return of the King, monsieur my 
good brother, to his kingdom, I would not omit wri- 
ting this letter, which I shall desire him to send you, 
for the purpose of informing you of my intention, 
which is that, on his arrival, you go to meet and re- 
ceive him, performing, in my name, such offices as are 
required of a good sister and ally, deliver the letters 
which I have written to him, and assuring him of the 
good will which you know I have always borne, both 
toward the late King and himself; and, if you have 
opportunity, recommend me and my affairs to him, 
and to the Queen, my good mother, also, to whom I 
am now writing, as also to the Queen, my good sister, 
and to MM., my uncles. 

"As for my health, it is, thank God, rather better 
than before I went to the baths. I have written more 
particularly to the said Sieur de la Mothe, who, I am 
sure, will have apprized them of it. For the rest, I 
beg you to take care to get me an ample reply to my 
dispatch of the 8th of May, and that the memorials 
which I sent them, and since, be dispatched, and the 

* Charles IX., who died the 31st of May, 1574. 



MAEY QTJEEN OF SCOTS. 345 

substance sent to M. de la Mothe, to be forwarded to 
me. If it please the Queen of England, madam my 
good sister, to permit you, I should be glad if you 
would soon send some one to pay my household, and, 
at the same time, let me know, in reply, what you have 
to say about such of my affairs as remain to be settled, 
and to assist me in remodeling my estimates ; for, as 
for Roullet, he has been twice on the point of death 
within the last fortnight, and it will be a long time 
before he can assist me again, if he should recover, 
of which I see no great likelihood, being decidedly 
consumptive, or I am much mistaken, for he has a 
continual wheezing, and is quite bent. Still, he says 
he is very well, and even within the last two days, 
told me he was sure he should get better. At any 
rate, it would be well if M. the cardinal, my uncle, 
would provide a person to take his place, his health 
being very precarious, and the least thing causes a re- 
lapse ; and let me know his name, and as much as you 
can of his disposition ; for it is necessary to have pa- 
tient and peaceable persons among prisoners, who 
have not all the comforts they wish ; and, above all, 
he must not be partial in his service, otherwise it 
would occasion me more trouble than ease, and have 
no need of that, having had enough of it already. 

" If, in traveling to meet the King, or, for other ex- 
penses connected with this matter, you have need of 
some consideration, I should be glad if M., the cardi- 
nal, would allow something extra, only apprising me 
of it. I shall approve of it, for I know you are fre- 
quently in need of aid, and have no desire that you 
0* 



346 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

should remain behindhand, any more than get on too 
fast. On the first opportunity, I will recommend you 
to the King, and renew my former request for you ; 
meanwhile, be careful that all my affairs are conduct- 
ed according to my orders. 

" Should you be permitted to send me some one 
with my accounts, send me, by-and-by, Jean de Com- 
peigne, and let him bring me patterns of dresses, and 
of cloth of gold and silver, and of silks, the handsomest 
and the rarest that are worn at court, in order to learn 
my pleasure about them. Order Poissy to make me 
a couple of head-dresses, with a crown of gold and 
silver, such as were formerly made for me ; and Bre- 
tan to remember his promise, and to procure for me 
from Italy some new fashions of head-dresses, vails, 
and ribbons with gold and silver, and I will reimburse 
him for whatever these may cost him. 

" You must not forget the birds, about which I late- 
ly wrote to you, and communicate the contents of this 
letter to messieurs, my uncles, and beg them to let me 
have a share of the new things which fall to them, as 
they do by my cousins ; for, though I do not wear 
such myself, they will be put to a better purpose. 
And to conclude, I will pray God to grant you, M. de 
Glascow, a long and happy life. 

" You must not fail to call, in my name, on M. and 
Madame de Lorraine, and apologize for my not writing 
to them at present, for want of leisure. I do not 
doubt that they will act towards me as a kind' brother 
and sister, having been brought up with them from 
my youth, and being one of their house. Do the 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 347 

game by my good sister, the Queen of Navarre, and 
remember me to all my relations and friends ; but 
more especially to my uncle, Monsieur the Cardinal 
de Bourbon, and to my brother, the grand prior, to 
whom I have not time to write at present, so he never 
writes to me but for payment, and on behalf of his 
servants, at least, it is a long time since he did. Re- 
member me, likewise, to M. and Madame de Yaude- 
mont, and M. and Madame de Nemours, and De Se- 
vers, and do not forget my cousin Du Maine, and his 
brother. 

" Serves de Conde, an old and faithful servant, has 
complained to me of having been forgotten in the es- 
timates for some years. I desire that he and his wife 
be placed at the head of the list ; in the meantime, 
I have given him an order, which I beg you will, see 
is paid him. Tell M., the cardinal, to furnish him 
with money to go to Scotland to take an inventory of 
the furniture which was in his keeping there, and to 
bring a certificate of what is wanting, who has it, and 
on what account he delivered it to them, and likewise 
testimonials from M. and Madame de Huthed, Lady 
Ledington, and Lord Seton, to whom he may deliver 
all that he can recover ; and if I learn from you, on 
his return, that he has rendered a good account, and 
arranged matters well for the future, I will take such 
steps as, with your approbation, I may see fit, for 
keeping his son-in-law, or some other person there, as 
may be found most convenient. 

" Your very kind friend and mistress, 

"Mary R. 



34:8 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

" Remember me to the Bishop of Ross — I have 
nothing to write to him about at present." 

When Mary learned that Elizabeth kindly accepted 
the gifts of her tasteful hand, she addressed her in a 
grateful mood : 

" Madame, my good sister, since it has pleased you 
to receive so graciously from Monsieur de la Mothe 
the little things which I took the liberty to send you 
by him, I cannot refrain from expressing to you how 
happy I shall feel, when it pleases you to allow me to 
endeavor, by all means, to regain some part of your 
favor, to do which I greatly desire you to have the 
goodness to aid me, by informing me of the matters 
in which I can please and obey you." 

She also wrote the French ambassador : "I feel 
the greatest satisfaction at the news you give me, that 
it has pleased the Queen, my good sister, to accept 
my tablets ; for I desire nothing so much as to be able 
always to please her, in the least as well as in the 
most important affairs, and I do this in the hope of 
recovering her favor, in the first place, and then I do 
not doubt of her goodness in all the rest. I am desi- 
rous to make her a head-dress as soon as I can, but 1 
have so few women to assist me in delicate needle- 
work, that I have not been able to get it ready yet. 
If you think some articles of network would please 
her better than anything else, I will make them. 
Meanwhile, I beg you to get for me some gold lace, 
ornamented with silver spangles, the best and most 
delicate that you can, and to send me six yards of it, 



MARY QTJEEN OF SCOTS. 349 

and twenty yards of donble lace, or else narrow good 
lace." 

Mary was subdued, and pity was the highest hom- 
age awarded the abject Queen. The troubler of mon- 
•archs, — the beautiful conspirator, whose plots shook 
kingdoms, has stooped to play the milliner to her im- 
perious rival. 

The correspondence with the Archbishop of Glas- 
gow was filial and frank, when private. She wrote 
tenderly after the death of her secretary, Eoullet : 

" From Sheffield, the 4th of September, 1574. 
"Monsieur de Glascow, it pleased God to take 
Roullet, my secretary, out of this wretched life into 
his glory, on the last day but one of August, at eight 
o'clock in the morning, and so suddenly, that when I 
sent to inquire after him, as was my custom every 
morning, he was breathing his last, so that he said no- 
thing when dying, about what he had requested of me 
before. I have set down what he said, as nearly as I 
can recollect, in a letter to M. Ferrarius, and to Hote- 
man ; which you will ask to see, and solicit them to 
accept the duty he has bequeathed them, and let me 
know whether they will fulfill it. He has left me the 
five thousand francs, which I lately made him a pres- 
ent of, saying that, he had sufficient to fulfill his last 
wishes. You must inquire respecting this, and, if you 
find it to be so, withdraw the said sum from Hoteman, 
or from the treasurer, because one or the other has 
received it for him, and which you can retain until 



350 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

you hear my further intentions. Make diligent in- 
quiry for some one to serve me as secretary, and send 
him to me as early as possible ; for I must not act 
any longer in this capacity, unless I wish to kill 
myself. 

" I beg you to inform my treasurer that I am dis- 
pleased, because my officers here, with the exception 
of one or two, are not paid according to the order I 
gave him ; and those whom he has paid, at least Du 
Cartel, my surgeon, tells me that he has reckoned 
the crown at sixty sous. Inquire if that is the value 
of it, for, if he wrongs my servants to make a profit 
by them, I will not suffer it. He has had sufficient 
profit by holding their wages from them for so long a 
time after they were due, and in only paying those 
whom he pleased ; though there was no need for it, 
because they compounded with him for one half, as 
Chateaudum was in the habit of doing with my offi- 
cers. Dolu wrote to me that he had j>aid all ; but I 

see to the contrary : he has no for 

he confesses, himself, that he is in my debt. I beg 
you will show him that part of my letter which re- 
lates to him, or let him know that I am extremely 
displeased, as he shall find, if he does not endeavor 
to satisfy my poor servants who are about me, and 
those who are recommended to me. I beg you will 
see that nothing further be done contrary to my in- 
structions. Houllet is dead * they can no longer sus- 
pect that it is he who puts this into my head ; and, 
as for Duvergier, he never spoke to me about him ; 
but I insist that he and all others obey me and fol- 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 351 

low my orders, let them displease whom they will ; 
and, as I am in expectation of your general dispatch, 
I will not say more at present, but desire yon to beg 
the cardinal, my nncle, not to permit any more money 
to be spent in the suit with Secondat ; for I tell you 
plainly, that I will give it up, rather than lay out an- 
other farthing upon it, let my counsel think what 
they please, unless they make it appear that there 
is a better prospect than I see at present. As far as 
I can learn, the six thousand francs are to be follow- 
ed by more ; I set my face against it ; show this to 
my said uncle, that he may forbid them to proceed 
further without his consent. 

" I have received a letter from Saint Cheran, apply- 
ing for the situation of his brother, who is in Cham- 
pagne. Tell him that, having seen the dispatch, by- 
and-by, according as he behaves himself, if he treads 
in the steps of his brother, and relies on me only, I 
will willingly comply with his request, and take him 
into my service, for I insist that my officers, especially 
those who are here with me, depend entirely upon 
me, and no other person. If any should urge my 
chancellor to do any act without first consulting me, 
I beg you will take care that he refuses, until my in- 
tention be known, for that was the principal reason 
why I took him, and that he should depend on none 
but me. In so doing, I beg, as you love me, to sup- 
port him, for I am resolved to be obeyed. 

" For the rest, present my humble remembrances 
to the King, M. my good brother, and to the Queen, 
my good mother, and beg them to command that all 



352 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

privileges and things in my gift may be reserved for 
me, and not given away, as they have been for some 
years past, nnder the name of grants from the King. 
Remember me to Messrs., my uncles, to my cousins, 
and to all my kind relations and friends, and take care 
to send your dispatch by a trusty person, and furnish- 
ed with a safe passport for what I want, as all the 
letters of Senlis were taken from him. After sin- 
cerely recommending myself to your remembrance, I 
pray God to have yon in his holy and worthy 
keeping. 

" I beg yon will desire my treasurer to pay the 
money as soon as possible to old Curie, for I fear that 
the assignment will be at a long date, and that he has 
great need of it for his poor motherless children. I 
recommend him to yon. I have not leisure to reply 
to the requests of Walker, nor have I a creature to 
assist me ; tell them they shall not be forgotten, nor 
yet the young lady who was to have come with Ral- 
lay, who, perhaps, some day may be in my service. 
" Your very good mistress and friend, 

" Mary R. 

"Apprise M., the cardinal, that if any one speaks 
to him for the situation of maitre d' hotel, held by the 
late Esgnilli, he must not promise it, for I intend to 
make alterations in my household, and to have this 
situation abolished, as I have, likewise, resolved to do 
in regard to many others, as they become vacant. I 
shall do the same with Ronllet's pension, leaving only 
the wages of a secretary for another in his j)lace, and 
I will not permit any persons to be placed over there 



IAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 353 

on my list without my knowledge, or I shall strike 
them out. 

" Do not forget my humble remembrances to Mad- 
ame, my grandmother. Roullet has left letters which 
he wrote to you, without addressing them, to M. de 
Ross and to M. the cardinal, whom I ought to have 
mentioned first ; I shall reserve them for better op- 
portunity, as they are not important, being merely on 
the matter concerning which he conceived himself to 
be suspected over there. Remember me to M. de 
Ross, to whom I have not leisure to write at present." 

A few weeks after she expressed her interest in the 
trifles which beguiled her solitary hours, and com- 
mends a friend in France, to his regard : 

" Sheffield, the 13th November, [1574. J 
" M. de Glascow — having received the sweetmeats 
by the hands of the bearer, the brother of my chan- 
cellor, Durvergier, I have thought it right to give you 
a line by him, merely to tell you that I am well, 
thank God, and waiting for my secretary, and if you 
do not make haste and send him, you will hear no 
more from me, for so much writing makes me ill. 
Till then, I shall not write to you about business ; 
but do not forget, as you are so often at Lyons, to send 
my little dogs. For the rest, Madame de Briante has 
returned into France, where she is likely to have a 
great deal to do, especially with her brother-in-law, 
respecting her dowry. If she has need of my inter- 
est with him, or with any other, or with those of the 



23 



354 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

law, I beg yon to do all in your power to assist her, 
and to request M. the cardinal, my uncle, to do what 
he can for her in all her affairs ; and, if she needs 
letters of recommendation from him, or from any of 
my relatives or kindred, you must procure them for 
her in my name, with leave of my said uncle ; so that, 
if she has occasion to solicit the settlement of her 
suits in Paris, he may, for my sake, accommodate her 
with apartments in some one of his houses, that may 
be most suitable. She is an excellent and virtuous 
lady, and an old servant of the late Queen, my mo- 
ther, and of myself, and her daughter is daily render- 
ing me most agreeable service. But you are so well 
acquainted with her merits and virtues, that I shall 
not make this letter any longer, unless to pray God, 
after recommending myself to your good graces, to 
grant you, M. de Glascow, health and a long and 
happy life. 

" Tour very good friend and mistress, 

"Maey K." 

Henry III. ascended the throne of France, and the 
captive felt a rising hope in his reputed bravery and 
devotion to Popery. But he soon blasted the expect- 
ation, by his characterless, undecided reign. Death 
robbed her, at this time, of a faithful ally. Tidings 
that Cardinal Lorraine was no more, reached the dis- 
consolate Queen. JSTot hearing immediately from the 
archbishop on the subject, she wrote him, complain- 
ing of neglect : 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 355 

" From Sheffield, 20th February, [1575.] 
" Monsieur de Glascow — I am much astonished 
that, on so melancholy event, I have neither received 
information nor consolation from you. I cannot at- 
tribute this to anything but the extreme sorrow you 
feel for the loss I have sustained : yet God be praised, 
if he sends me afflictions, he has, thus far, given me 
grace to support them. Though I cannot, at the first 
moment, command my feelings, or prevent the tears 
that will flow, yet my long adversity has taught me 
to hope for consolation for all my afflictions in a bet- 
ter life. Alas ! I am a prisoner, and God has bereft 
me of one of those persons whom I most loved ; what 
shall I say more ? lie has bereft me, at one blow, of 
my father and my uncle ; I shall now follow whenev- 
er he pleases, with less regret ; but yet, instead of 
comforting me, do not distress yourself too much on 
my account, lest I might be deprived of a good 
and faithful servant, which, I feel assured, I have 
in you." 

Mary Stuart still looked, with faint anticipation of 
aid, to Philip II., and resumed correspondence re- 
specting an invasion of England. Her failing health 
and perils, drew forth the following singular and un- 
natural disposal of her son, quoted from a message 
to the Archbishop of Glasgow : 

" In order not to contravene the glory, honor, and 
preservation of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman 
church, in which I wish to live and die, if the prince 



356 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

of Scotland, my son, shall be brought back to its 
creed in spite of the bad education he has received, 
to my great regret, in the heresy of Calvin, among 
my rebellious subjects, I leave him the sole and only 
heir of my kingdom of Scotland, and of the right 
which I justly claim to the crown of England and its 
dependent countries ; but if, on the other hand, my 
said son continues to live in the said heresy, I yield 
and transfer and present all my rights in England and 
elsewhere ... to the Catholic King, or any of 
his relations whom he may please, with the advice 
and consent of his Holiness ; and I do this, not only 
because I perceive him to be now the only true sup- 
porter of the Catholic religion, but also out of grati 
tude for the many favors which I and my friends, 
recommended by me, have received from him in my 
greatest necessity, and furthermore, out of respect to 
the rights which he may himself possess to the said 
kingdoms and countries. I beseech him, in return, 
to make alliance with the house of Lorraine, and, if 
possible, with that of Guise, in memory of the race 
from which I am sprung on my mother's side." 

A part of Mary's correspondence during the years 
1579-80, will afford a glance at her somewhat monot- 
onous life : 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO THE ARCHBISHOP OF GLASGOW. 

" June 21, 1579. 
"Moil's de Glascow — Owing to the absence of 
Nau, who set out a fortnight ago for Scotland, on a 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 357 

visit to my son,* and to my having been rather indis- 
posed — many thanks to Du Yal, whom I expected 
here to physic (jmrger) me for this whole summer — 
I conld not give an earlier answer to your last letters. 
I shall therefore begin by requesting you to put the 
irons in the fire again, and try to find me another 
physician who is not a deceiver, and make Lusgeri 
do the same ; 'and, meanwhile, give me your opinion 
of any who may offer themselves. I have ordered 
Duvergier, my chancellor, if he knows of any person, 
to send him to you, so that you may speak to him, 
and be able to give me your opinion. I fear he will 
find work cut out for him, as I begin to be unwell, 
and am suffering from what I have not had for a long 
time — a very bad, dry cough. I am glad that you 
have gone to the baths for the benefit of your health, 
but am sorry that you could not be present, according 
to my desire, at the rendering of the acounts of Dolu, 
my treasurer. I hope soon to be able to inform you, 
whom I intend to appoint in his place. As to the 
affair of Madam de Humieres, you will do well to 
make inquiry about it, for I think it a sad thing that 
the fief should be so much diminished, since she herself 
wrote to me, at her leisure, respecting it. Touching 
the request of your secretary, I cannot, for several 
reasons, comply with it at present. I beg you, on 

* "About this time, Mary sent by ISTau, her secretary, a letter to 
her son, together with some jewels of value, and a vest, embroi- 
dered with her own hand. But, as she gave him only the title of 
Prince of Scotland, the messenger was dismissed without being 
admitted into his presence." — Robertson's Hist, of Scotl. b. vi. 



358 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

your return, to give me a full account of the state of 
my affairs, and to look well after them ; and, in re- 
turn, I hope to be able, on the arrival of Kau, to inform 
you of that of your old mistress and your young 
master. So the latter be but satisfactory, the former 
cannot be otherwise. And, in this place, after hear- 
tily commending myself to you, I pray God to give 
you, M. de Glascow, a long and happy life. 

" Your very good mistress and best friend, 

" Maey K." 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO THE AECHBISHOP OF GLASGOW. 

" Buxton, August 10, 1579. 

" Monsieur de Glascow — As the indisposition of 
.Nan prevents me from giving you a detailed answer 
to your preceding letters, I write in the meantime to 
inform you of my arrival at the baths, and of the 
benefit I have derived from them in relieving the in- 
veterate pain in my side. As ill luck would have it, 
at Sheffield, those who were assisting me to mount 
my horse, let me fall backward on the steps of the 
door, from which I received so violent a blow on the 
spine of the back, that, for some days past, I have 
not been able to hold myself upright. I hope, howev- 
er, with the good remedies which I have employed, to 
be quite well before I leave this place. "We have not 
been wholly free from the epidemic disorder ; but it has 
been much more violent among the people of the 
country than those of my household, not one of which 
is now, thank God, affected by it. 

" Do not fail to send me all the things which I di- 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 359 

reeled you, notwithstanding the danger that you tell 
me you apprehend on your side of the water, and 
which is not less here, and write to me an all occa- 
sions, according to the opportunity you have. Where- 
upon, I pray God to have you, M. de Glascow, in his 
holy keeping. 

" Your very good mistress and best friend, 

"MaryB." 

the queen of scots to m. de mauvissieee. 

'Monsieur de Mauvissiere — Having purchased 
two beautiful rare nags for my cousin, Monsieur de 
Guise, it was my intention to have immediately sent 
them both in charge of the bearer, who is obliged to 
return to France with his w T ife, for the cure of a dis- 
order with which she has been afflicted ever since last 
winter. But one of the said horses having been ailing 
(forheu) for the last seven or eight days, I thought it 
advisable not to miss this oj^portunity, nor the season, 
for sending the other, which I have given in charge 
to the groom, who has for some time past had it under 
his particular care, and I have given him strict orders 
to take it to your house ; and you will oblige me to 
let it be led by one of your grooms, to my ambassador, 
in order that he may present it, in my name, to my 
said cousin, and to pay my expenses incurred. I 
think you will have no difficulty about his journey, 
with the passport which it will be necessary to obtain 
for the purpose, any more than for that of any of my 
said officers ; I shall, therefore, not give you any more 
particular directions on the subject, praying God, 



360 MAfiY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

Monsieur de Mauvissiere, to have you in his holy and 
worthy care. Written at the manor of Sheffield, the 
iii. day of September, 1580. 

" Your yery obliged and best friend, 

"Maby R." 

Morton, Regent of Scotland, had for five years ruled 
wisely over the realm. Commerce prospered in the 
universal peace, and the transforming progress in ev- 
ery branch of national prosperity, was the theme of 
eulogy with foreign ambassadors. The fruits of a 
Protestant reign were benign and happy. But the 
restless nobles demanded his resignation, and the in- 
vestment of James VI., then thirteen years of age, 
with full authority. After great reverses of fortune 
within a short period, Morton was condemned to the 
scaffold, June 2d, 1581, on the charge of complicity 
in the murder of Darnley. He confessed his knowl- 
edge of the conspiracy, but denied any connection 
with it, not daring, he affirmed, to reveal it, because 
the Queen approved the regicide. He died with un- 
faltering firmness and resignation. Mary heard with 
unfeigned satisfaction of the execution of an enemy, 
whose death was favorable to her aspirations. 

Mary had refused to give James VI. the title of 
King, and when her messenger, Kau, presented him- 
self with maternal gifts, the youthful prince denied 
him audience, because his mother had omitted the 
royal address. 

A new scheme was proposed of association in the 
crown. The conditions were, the resignation of tha 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 361 

sceptre to Mary, and her restoration of it again to her 
son. The management of the aifair was committed 
to the Duke of Guise. It was anotlier Catholic de- 
vice, similar to that of 1570. Earl of Lennox, for- 
merly ■ Stuart, a Catholic favorite of James, held 

a commanding influence, and secretly used it to weak- 
en the strength of the Presbyterian church. Prepar- 
atory to his ultimate plans, he reestablished the Epis- 
copal church for the benefit of the Protestant nobility. 
The English ambassador at Edinburgh disclosed to 
the nobles who were faithful to the Reformation, the 
negotiations in progress, and the danger to their reli- 
gion and lives, if the project of association in the 
crown succeeded. The result was another formidable 
confederation to put down Lennox, defeat the designs 
of the Queen, and guard the Protestant faith. Len- 
nox moved fearlessly forward ; but intelligence reach- 
ing the confederates of his incautious haste, they re- 
solved to strike a blow without delay. The King was 
enjoying the chase near Perth. The Earl of Gourie 
invited him to his castle at Puthven, when suddenly 
it was environed with a thousand men. The captive 
wept and expostulated in vain ; he was carried to the 
fortress of Stirling Castle. Lennox, after attempting 
to intrench himself at Edinburgh, retired into France, 
where he soon died. 

This disastrous experiment of Mary's friends, once 
more plunged her into the abyss of helplessness and 
despair ; while Elizabeth was elated with the triumphs 
of her unshaken authority. In the extremity of her con- 
dition, she wrote a long and deeply interesting letter : 
P 



362 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO QUEEN ELTZABETH.* 

" Madam — Upon that which has come to m y knowl- 
edge of the lajt conspiracies executed in Scotland 
against my poor child, having reason to fear the con- 
sequences of it, from the example of myself, I must 
employ the very small remainder of my life and 
strength before my death, to discharge my heart to 
you fully of my just and melancholy complaints ; of 
which I desire that this letter may serve you as long 
as you live after me, for a perpetual testimony and 
engraving upon your conscience, as much for my dis- 
charge to posterity, as to the shame and confusion of 
all those who, under your approbation, have so cru- 
elly and unworthily treated me to this time, and 
reduced me to the extremity in which I am. But 
as their designs, practices, actions, and proceedings, 
though as detestable as they could have been, have 
always prevailed with you against my very just re- 
monstrances and sincere deportment ; and as the 
power which you have in your hands, has always 

* Blackwood, whose history of the sufferings of Mary was pub- 
lished so early as 1587, says: "The Queen at the reported seizure of 
her son by Lord Go wry, having received an intimation of her son's 
captivity, fell so sick that she thought she should die, as the Eng- 
lish physicians reported she would to their mistress, who wanted 
nothing better, having the son already in her power, or, which was 
the same ; in the hands of the people who were devoted to her ; with 
which the poor mother, being greatly agitated in her mind, after 
she had addressed her prayers to God, put her hand to the pen, 
thinking to obtain favor from, and to soften the heart of, her cousin 
by this address." The French original of this " celebrated letter," 
as Chalmers calls it, is in the British Museum, Cotton lib. Calig. c 
vii. 51. 



1AET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 363 

been a reason for you among mankind ; I will have 
recourse to the living God, our only judge, who has 
established us equally and immediately under Him, 
for the government of his people. 

" I will invoke him, till the end of this, my very press- 
ing affliction, that he w T ill return to you and to me (as 
he will do in his last judgment,) the share of our merits 
and demerits one toward the other. And remember, 
madam, that to him we shall not be able to disguise 
anything by the point and policy of the world ; though 
mine enemies, under you, have been able, for a time, 
to cover their subtle inventions to men, perhaps to 
you. 

" In his name, and before him sitting between you 
and me, I will remind you that, by the agents, spies, 
and secret messengers, sent in your name to Scotland 
while I was there, my subjects were encouraged to 
rebel against me, to make attempts upon my person, 
and, in a word, to speak, do, enterprise, and execute 
that which has come to the said country during my 
troubles ; of which I will not, at present, specify oth- 
er proof than that which I have gained of it by the 
confession of one who was afterward among those 
that were most advanced for this good service, and 
of the witnesses confronted with him. To whom, if 
I had since done justice, he had not afterward, by his 
ancient intelligences, renewed the same practices 
against my son, and had not procured for all my trai- 
torous and rebellious subjects who took refuge with 
you, that aid and support which they have had, even 
since my detention on this side ; without which sup- 



364 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

port I think the said traitors could not since have 
prevailed, nor afterward have stood out so long as 
they have done. 

"During my imprisonment at Lochleven, the late 
Trogmarton [Throckmorton] counseled me on your 
behalf to sign that demission which he advertised me 
would be presented to me, assuring me that it would 
not be valid. And there was not afterward a place 
in Christendom, where it was held for valid or main- 
tained, except on this side, [where it was maintained] 
even to having assisted with open force, the authors 
of it. In your conscience, madam, would you ac- 
knowledge an equal liberty and power in your sub- 
jects ? JSToth withstanding this, my authority has been 
by my subjects transferred to my son, when he was 
not capable of exercising it. 

" And since I was willing to assure it lawfully to him, 
he being of age to be assisted to his own advantage, it is 
suddenly ravished from him, and assigned over to 
two or three traitors ; who, having taken from him 
the effectiveness of it, will take from him as they 
have from me, both the name and the title of it, if 
he contradicts them in the manner he may, and 
perhaps his life, if God does not provide for his pres- 
ervation. 

" When I was escaped from Lochleven, ready to 
give battle to my rebels, I remitted to you, by a gen- 
gleman express, a diamond jewel, which I had former- 
ly received as a token from you, and with assurance 
to be succored against my rebels, and even that, on my 
retiring toward you, you would come to the very Iron- 



MART QUEEN OF SOOTS. 365 

tiers in order to assist me ; which had been confirmed 
to me by divers messengers. 

"This promise, coming, and repeatedly, from your 
month, (though I had found myself often deceived by 
your ministers,) made me place such affiance on the 
effectiveness of it, that, when my army was routed, I 
had come directly to throw myself into your arms, if I 
had been able to approach them. But, while I was 
planning to set out, there was I arrested on my way, 
surrounded with guards, secured in strong places, and 
at last reduced, all shame set aside, to the captivity 
in which I remain to this day, after a thousand deaths, 
which I have already suffered from it. 

" I know that you will allege to me what passed 
between the late Duke Norfolk [Duke of Norfolk] 
and me. I maintain that there was nothing in this to 
your prejudice or against the public good of this realm, 
and that the treaty was sanctioned with the advice and 
signatures of the first persons who were then of your 
council, under the assurance of making it appear good 
to you. How could such personages have underta- 
ken the enterprise of making you consent to a point 
which should deprive you of life, of honor, and 
your crown, as you have shown yourself persuaded it 
would have done to all the ambassadors and others, 
who speak to you concerning me. 

" In the meantime, my rebels perceiving that their 
headlong course was carrying them much further than 
they had thought before, and the truth being evidenced 
concerning the calumnies that had been propagated 
of me at the conference to which I submitted, in full 



366 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

assembly of your deputies and mine, with others of 
the contrary party in that country, in order to clear 
myself publicly of them ; there were the principals, 
for having come to repentance, besieged by your for- 
ces in the „ Castle of Edinburgh, and one of the first 
among them poisoned,* and the other most cruelly 
hanged ;f after I had twice made them lay down their 
arms at your request, in hopes of an agreement, which 
God knows whether my enemies aimed at. 

" I have been for a long time trying whether pa- 
tience could soften the rigor and ill-treatment which 
they have begun for these ten years peculiarly to 
make me suffer. And, accommodating myself exactly 
to the order prescribed me for my captivity in this 
house, as well in regard to the number and quality 
of the attendants which I retain, dismissing the othe- 
ers, as for my diet and ordinary exercises for my 
health, I am living at present as quietly and peacea- 
bly as one much inferior to myself, and more obliged 
than with such treatment I was to you, had been able 
.to do ; even to the abstaining, in order to take from 
you all shadow of suspicion and diffidence, from re- 
quiring to have some intelligence with my son and 
my country, which is what by no right or reason could 
be denied me, and particularly with my child ; whom, 
instead of this, they endeavored by every way to 
persuade against me, in order to weaken us by our 
division. 

" I was permitted, you will say, to send one to visit 

*Secretary Maitland. f The Laird of Grange. 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 367 

him there about three years ago. His captivity then 
at Stirling under the tyranny of Morton, was the 
cause of it, as his liberty was afterward of the refusal 
to make a like visit. All this year past I have sever- 
al times entered into divers overtures for the estab- 
lishment of a good amity between us, and a sure 
understanding between these two realms in future. 
About ten years ago, commissioners were sent to me 
at Chatsworth for that purpose. A treaty has been 
held upon it with yourself, by my ambassadors and 
those of France. I even myself made last winter all 
the advantageous overtures concerning it to Beal, that 
it was possible to make. What return have I had 
from them ? My good intention has been despised, 
the sincerity of my actions has been neglected and ca- 
lumniated, the state of my affairs has been traversed by 
delays, postponings, and other such like artifices. And, 
in conclusion, a worse and more unworthy treatment 
from day to day, in spite of anything which I am 
obliged to do to deserve the country, and my very 
long, useless, and prejudicial patience, have reduced 
me so low, that mine enemies, in their habits of using 
me ill, now think they have the right of prescription 
for treating me, not as a prisoner, which in reason I 
could not be, but as a slave, whose life and whose 
death depend only upon their tyranny. 

" I cannot, madam, endure it any longer ; and I 
must in dying discover the authors of my death, or 
living, attempt, under your protection, to find an end 
to the cruelties, calumnies, and traitorous designs of 
my said enemies, in order to establish me in some lit- 



368 



MAE"5 QUEEN OF SCOTS. 



tie more repose for the remainder of my life. To take 
away the occasions pretended for all the differences 
between us, banish from your mind, if you please, all 
that has been reported to you concerning my actions ; 
review the depositions of the foreigners taken in Ire- 
land ; let those of the Jesuits last executed be sub- 
mitted to you; give liberty to those who would 
undertake to accuse me publicly, and permit me to 
enter upon my defence ; if any evil be found in me, 
let me suffer for it; it shall be patiently, when I know 
the occasion of it ; if any good, allow me not to be 
worse treated for it, with your very high commission 
before God and man. 

" The vilest criminals that are in your prisons, born 
under your obedience, are admitted to their justifica- 
tion; and their accusers and their accusations are 
always declared to them. Why, then, shall not the 
same order have place toward me, a sovereign Queen 
your nearest relation and lawful heir ? I think that 
this last circumstance has hitherto been on the side 
of my enemies, the principal cause of all their cal- 
umnies, to make their unjust pretensions slide be- 
tween the two, and keep us in division. But, alas! 
they have now little reason and less need to torment 
me more upon this account. For I protest to you, upon 
mine honor, that I look this day for no kingdom but 
that of my God, whom I see preparing me for the 
better conclusion of all my afflictions and adversities. 
" This will be to you [a monition] to discharge your 
conscience toward my child, as to what belongs to him 
on this point after my death ; and, in the meantime, 



MAET QUEEN OF SOOTS. 369 

not to let prevail to his prejudice, the continual prac- 
tices and secret conspiracies which our enemies in this 
kingdom are making daily for the advancement of 
their said pretensions; laboring, on the other side, 
with our traitorous subjects in Scotland, by all the 
means which they can to hasten his ruin ; of which 
I desire no better verification than the charges given 
to your last deputies sent into Scotland, and what the 
said deputies have seditiously practiced there, as I 
believe, without your knowledge, but with good and 
sufficient solicitation of the earl, my good neighbor 
at York.* 

" And on this point, madam, by what right can it 
be maintained that I, the mother of my child, am to- 
tally prohibited not only from assisting him in the so 
urgent necessity in which he is, but also from having 
any intelligence of his state ? Who can bring him 
more carefulness, duty, and sincerity than I? To 
whom can he be more near ? At the least, if, when 
sending to him to provide for his preservation, as the 
Earl of Cheresbury [Shrewsbury] gave me lately to 
understand that you. did, you had been pleased to 
take my advice in the matter, you would have inter- 
posed with a better face, as I think, and with more 
obligingness to me. But consider what you leave me 
to think, when, forgetting so suddenly the offence 
which you pretended to have taken against my son, 
at the time I was requesting you that we should send 
together to him, you have dispatched one to the place 

* The Earl of Huntingdon, then Lord President, at York. 
P* 24 



370 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

where lie was a prisoner, not only without giving me 
advice of it, but debarring me at the very time from 
all liberty, that by no way whatever I might have any 
news of him. 

" And if the intention of those who have procured 
on your part this so prompt visit to my son had been 
for his preservation and the repose of the country, 
they needed not to have been so careful to conceal it 
from me, as a matter in which I should not have been 
willing to concur with you. By this means they have 
lost you the good will which I should have had 
for you. And, to talk to you more plainly on the 
point, I pray you not to employ there any more such 
means or such persons. For, although I hold the Lord 
de Kerri [Cary, Lord Hunsdon] too sensible of the 
rank from which he is sprung, to engage his honor in 
a villainous act, yet he has had for an assistant a 
sworn partizan of the Earl of Huntingdon's, by whose 
bad offices an action as bad has nearly succeeded to a 
similar effect* I shall be contented, then, if you will 
only not permit my son to receive any injury from his 
country (which is all that I have ever required of you 
before, even when an army was sent to the borders, to 
prevent justice from being done to that detestable Mor- 
ton,) nor any of your subjects to intermeddle any 
more, directly or indirectly, in the affairs of Scotland, 
unless with my knowledge, to whom all cognizance 
of these things belongs, or with the assistance of some 
one on the part of the most Christian King, my good 
brother, whom, as our principal ally, I desire to make 
privy to the whole of this cause, notwithstanding the 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 871 

little influence that lie can have with the traitors who 
detain my son at present. 

" In the meantime, I declare in all frankness to 
you, that I hold this last conspiracy and innovation 
as pure treason against the life of my son, the good 
of his affairs, and that of the country ; and that, while 
he shall be in the state which I understand he is, I 
shall consider no message, writing, or other act that 
comes from him, or is passed in his name, as proceed- 
ing from his free and voluntary disposition, but only 
from the said conspirators, who are making him serve 
as a mask for them, at the risk of his life. 

"But, madam, with all this freedom of speech, 
which I can foresee will in some sort displease you, 
though it is but the truth itself, you will think it still 
more strange, I am sure, that I importune you again 
with a request of much greater importance, and yet 
very easy for you to grant. This is, that, not having 
been able hitherto by accommodating myself patiently 
for so long a time to the rigorous treatment of this 
captivity, and, carrying myself sincerely in all things, 
yea, even such as could concern you ever so little, in 
order to give some assurance of my entire affection, 
for you, all my hope being taken away of being 
better treated for the very short period of my 
life that remains to me, I supplicate you for the 
sake of the painful passion of our Saviour and Re- 
deemer, Jesus Christ, again I supplicate you, to per- 
mit me to withdraw myself out of your realm, into 
some place of repose, to seek some comfort for my 
poor body, worn out as it is with continual sorrows, 



372 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

that, with liberty of conscience, I may prepare my 
sonl for God, who is daily calling for it. 

"Believe, madam, and the physicians whom you 
sent this last summer are able sufficiently to judge 
the same, that I am not for a long continuance, so as 
to give you any foundation for jealousy or distrust of 
me. And, notwithstanding this, require of me what- 
ever just and reasonable assurances and conditions 
you think fit. The greatest power rests always on 
your side, to make me keep them ; though on no ac- 
count whatsoever would I wish to break them. You 
have had sufficient experience of my observance of 
my simple promises, and sometimes to my prejudice; 
as I showed you on this very point about two years 
ago. Recollect, if you please, what I then wrote to 
you ; and if you will never be able to bind my heart 
to you so much as by kindness, though you keep my 
poor body languishing forever between four walls ; 
those of my rank and nature not suffering themselves 
to be gained or forced by any rigor. 

" Your imprisonment, without any right or just 
ground, has already destroyed my body, of which you 
will shortly see the end, if it continues there a little 
longer ; and my enemies will not have much time to 
glut their cruelty on me ; nothing is left of me but 
the soul, which all your power cannot make captive. 
Give it, then, room to aspire a little more freely after 
its salvation, which is all that it now seeks, rather than 
any grandeur of this world. It seems to me that it 
cannot be any great satisfaction, honor, and advan- 
tage to you, for my enemies to trample my life under 



MAET QUE EN OF SCOTS. 373 

foot, till they have stifled me in your presence. Where- 
as, if, in this extremity, however late it be, you release 
me out of their hands, you will bind me strongly to 
you, and bind all those who belong to me, particular- 
ly my poor child, whom you will, perhaps, make sure 
to yourself by it. 

" I will not cease to importune you with this request, 
till it is granted. And on this account I beg you to 
let me know your intention ; having, in order to com- 
ply with you, delayed for two years till this time to 
renew my application for it. In the meantime, pro- 
vide, if you please, for the bettering of my treatment 
in this country, that I may not suffer any longer, and 
commit me not to the discretion of any other what- 
ever, but only your own self, from whom alone, (as I 
wrote to you lately,) I wish for the future to derive all 
the good and the evil which I shall experience in 
your dominions. Do me this favor, to let me, or the 
ambassador of France for me, have your intention in 
writii i g. For, to confine me to what the Earl of Scher- 
usbury, [Shrewsbury] or others shall say or write 
about it on your behalf, I have too much experience 
to be able to put any assurance in it ; the least point 
which they shall capriciously fancy being sufficient 
to make a total change from one day to another. 

"Besides this, the last time I wrote to those of your 
council, you gave me to understand that I ought not 
to address myself to them, but to you alone ; there- 
fore, to extend their authority and credit only to do 
me hurt, could not be reasonable ; as has happened 
in this last limitation, in which, contrary to your in- 



374: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

tentions, I have been treated with much indignity. 
This gives me every reason to suspect that some of my 
enemies in your said council may have procured it 
with a design to keep others of the said council from 
being made privy to my just complaints, lest the oth- 
ers should perhaps see their companions adhere to 
their wicked attempts upon my life, which, if they 
should have any knowledge of them, they would 
oppose, for the sake of your honor and of their duty 
towards you. 

"Two things I have principally to require at the 
close : the one, that, near as I am to leaving this 
world, I may have with me for my consolation some 
honest churchman, to remind me daily of the course 
which I have to finish, and to teach me how to com- 
plete it conformably with my religion, in which I am 
firmly resolved to live and die. 

" This is a last duty, which cannot be denied the 
meanest and most abject person that lives : it is a lib- 
erty which you grant to all the foreign ambassadors, 
and which all Catholic Kings give to your ambassa- 
dors — the exercise of their religion. And even I 
myself have not heretofore forced my own subjects 
to anything contrary to their religion, though I had 
all power and authority over them. And that I should 
be deprived in this extremity of such freedom, you 
cannot in justice require. What advantage will ac- 
crue to you if you deny it me ? I hope that God will 
forgive me, if, oppressed by you in this manner, I 
render him no other duty than what I shall be allow- 
ed to do in my heart. But you will set a very bad 



MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 375 

example to the other princes of Christendom, to act 
towards their subjects with the same rigor that you 
will show to me, a sovereign Queen, and your nearest 
relation, which I am, and shall be, as long as I live, 
in spite of my enemies. 

" I would not now trouble you with the increase of 
my household ; about which, for the short time I have 
to live, I need not care much. I require then from you 
only two bedchamber women to attend me during my 
illness ; attesting to you before God, that they are 
very necessary to me, now that I am a forlorn crea- 
ture among these simple people. Grant these to me, 
for God's sake ; and show, in this instance, that my 
enemies have not so much credit with you against 
me as to exercise their vengeance and cruelty in a 
point of so little importance, and involving a mere 
office of humanity. 

" I will now come to that with which the Earl of 
Shrewsbury has charged me, if such a one as he can 
charge me, which is this : that, contrary to my prom- 
ise made to Beal, and without your knowledge, I have 
been negotiating with my son, to yield to him my 
title to the crown of Scotland, when I had obliged 
myself not to proceed in it but with your advice, by 
one of my servants, who should be directed by one 
of yours in their common journey thither. These are, 
I believe, the very words of the said earl. 

" I will tell you, madam, that Beal never had an 
absolute and unconditional promise from me, but, in- 
deed, conditional overtures, by which I cannot be 
bound, in the state in which the business is, unless the 



376 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

* 

stipulations which I annexed to it are previously exe- 
cuted ; and so far is he from having satisfied me about 
this, that, on the contrary, I have never had any an- 
swer from him, nor heard mention of it since, on his 
part. And on this point, I well remember, that the 
Earl of Shrewsbury, about Easter last, wishing to 
draw from me a new confirmation of what I had spo- 
ken to the said Beal, I replied to him very fully, that 
it was only in case the said conditions should be grant- 
ed, and consequently fulfilled toward me. Both are 
living to testify this, if they will tell the truth about 
it. Then, seeing that no answer was made to me, but 
on the contrary, that by delays and neglects my ene- 
mies continued more licentiously than ever their prac- 
tices carried on ever since the sojourn of the said Beal 
with me, in order to thwart my just pretensions in 
Scotland, so that the effects have been well witnessed 
there ; by these means a door was left open for the ruin 
of myself and son ; I took your silence for a refusal, 
and discharged myself, by express letters, as well to 
you as to your council, from all that I had treated 
upon with the said Beal. 

" I make you fully privy to what monsieur, the 
King, and madame, the Queen, had written to me 
with their own hands, on this business, and I asked 
your advice upon it, which is yet to come, and on 
which it was in truth my intention to proceed, if you 
had given it me in time, and you had permitted me 
to send to my son, assisting me in the overtures which 
I had proposed to you, in order to establish between 
the two realms a good amity and perfect intelligence 



MARY QUEEN - OF SCOTS. 377 

for'*the future. But to bind myself nakedly to follow 
your advice before I knew what it would be, and, for 
the journey of our servants, to put mine under the 
direction of yours, even to my own country, I was 
never yet so simple as to think of it. 

"]STow I refer to your consideration, if you knew 
of the false game which my enemies in this country 
have played me in Scotland, to reduce things to the 
point at which they stand, which of us has proceeded 
with the greatest sincerity. God judge between them 
and me, and avert from this island the j ust punish- 
ment of their demerits ! 

" Take no heed of the intelligence which my trai- 
torous subjects in Scotland have given you. You will 
find, and I will maintain it before all the princes in 
Christendom, that nothing whatever has passed there 
on my side to your prejudice, or against the welfare 
and tranquillity of the realm, which I affect not less 
than any counselor or subject that you have, being 
more interested in it than any of them. 

"There was a negotiation for gratifying my son 
with the title and name of King, and for insuring 
as well the said title to him as impunity to the rebels 
for their past offences, and for replacing everything in 
repose and tranquillity for the future, without innova- 
tion of any kind whatever. Was this taking away 
the crown from my son? My enemies, I believe, had 
no wish whatever that the crown should be secured 
to him, and are therefore glad that he should keep it 
by the unlawful violence of traitors, enemies from 
times of old to all our family. Was this then seeking 



378 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

for justice upon the past offences of the said traitors, 
which ray clemency has always surpassed % 

" But an evil conscience can never be assured, car- 
rying its fear continually in its very great trouble 
within itself. Was it wishing to disturb the repose 
of the country to grant a mild pardon of everything 
past, and to effect a general reconciliation between 
all our subjects ? This is the point which our enemies 
in this country are afraid of, much as they pretend 
to desire it. What prejudice would be done to you 
by this ? Mark then, and verify, if you please, by 
what other point. I will answer it on my honor. 

"Ah! will you, madam, suffer yourself to be so 
blind to the artifices of my enemies, as to establish 
their unjust pretensions to this crown, after you are 
gone ; nay, perhaps, against yourself? Will you suf- 
fer them in your lifetime, and look on, while they are 
ruining and cruelly destroying those so nearly con- 
nected with you, both in heart and in blood ? What 
advantage and honor can you hope for in allowing 
them to keep us, my son and me, so long separated, 
and him and me from you ? 

" Redeem tire old pledges of your good-nature ; 
bind your relations to yourself ; let me have the satis- 
faction, before I die, of seeing all matters happily 
settled between us ; that my soul, when released from 
this body, may not be constrained to make its lamen- 
tations to God for the wrongs which you have suffered 
to be done it here below ; but rather that, being hap- 
pily united to you, it may quit this captivity, to go to 
Him, whom I pray to inspire you favorably upon .my 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 379 

very just, and more than reasonable complaints and 
grievances. At Sheffield, this 8th of November, one 
thousand, five hundred, eighty-two. 

" Your very disconsolate nearest kinswoman, 
and affectionate cousin, 

"Maey B." 

The Queen of England was far from yielding to the 
captive's pleading. Recent events had decided her 
to keep Mary in secure confinement, where, as hith- 
erto, failure should be the issue of all plots against 
her own majesty, and in behalf of her rival. In poor 
Scotland, revolutions swept over the land, like the 
waves of a tempestuous deep. James YI. was young 
and weak, both in council and action. He entertain- 
ed no ardent affection for his mother, consequently 
had not imbibed her ambitious hostility to Elizabeth. 
He was the creature of popular commotion, and ca- 
pricious attachments to political favorites. Mean- 
while, Philip II. and the Duke of Guise determined 
to invade England, with a bold and decisive cam- 
paign. June 27th, 1583, James, by the assistance of 
Earl Huntly and others, regained his freedom, and 
was prepared for the adventure. 

The Duke of Guise sent Charles Paget, under the 
assumed name of Mapo, who was one of the mana- 
agers of Mary's dowry in France, to the English Cath- 
olics with this message : 

"Assure them, upon the faith and honor of Hercu- 
les, (the Duke of Guise,) that the enterprise has no 
other object than the establishment of the Catholic 



880 MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

religion in England, and the peaceable restitution of 
the crown of England to the Queen of Scotland, to 
whom that crown of right belongs. As soon as this 
is done, all foreigners shall leave the kingdom, and if 
any refuse to do so, Hercules promises to join his for- 
ces to those of the inhabitants of the country, in order 
to drive them out." 

The grand expedition was doomed to inglorious 
close, like every movement which had been made for 
the imprisoned Queen. Elizabeth's counsellors dis- 
covered the scheme, and the result was a fiercer cru- 
sade upon Catholicism, and greater vigilance over 
Mary Stuart. The English Parliament convened, and 
aroused by the late designs upon Elizabeth and the 
realm, passed a bill, depriving Mary Stuart and all 
her descendants of the right of succession, if the 
sovereign of England met a violent death, and author- 
izing the pursuit and execution of any person found 
privy to the conspiracy, before a jury of twenty-four 
commissioners. Parliament also enacted, " the pen- 
alties of high treason against any English Catholic 
priest, ordained by the Bishop of Pome, who was 
found in the realm after the expiration of forty clays ; 
attainted with felony all persons who should receive 
or assist him ; punished with fine and imprisonment, 
at the Queen's pleasure, all who knew of his being in 
the kingdom, and did not denounce him within twelve 
days ; ordered that all students in Catholic seminaries 
abroad, who did not return to England within six 
months after proclamation to that effect, should be 
punished as traitors ; that parents sending their chil- 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 381 

dren abroad without license, should forfeit for every 
such offence one hundred pounds ; and that children 
so sent to seminaries, should be disabled from inher- 
iting the property of their parents." 

Mary discerned in these statutes the shadows of 
her hastening fate. She was removed, August 25th, 
1584, from Sheffield to Wingfield Castle. She signed 
a declaration in sentiment the same as that of the 
combination to protect the rights of Elizabeth. Jan- 
uary 5th, 1585, she wrote to the Archbishop of Glas- 
gow, that she desired to secure peace for the Queen 
of England, power for James YL, and freedom for 

herself. 

She finally submitted with great reluctance to the 
will of Sir Balph Sadler, and his son-in-law, Somers, 
her new keepers, and was transferred from Wingfield 
to the cold and gloomy apartments of Tutbury Cas- 
tle. A letter to Mauvissiere and Chasteauneuf, joint- 
ly, gives minutely a narrative of her cheerless cap- 
tivity : 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO M. DE MAUVISSIEEE AND M. DE CHAS- 

TEAUNEUF. 

" Gentlemen, foreseeing that your answer to my 
last will be some time before it reaches me, I have 
thought it best, without waiting for it, to impart to 
you my just complaints concerning what Sir Amays 
has been directed to signify to me, touching the me- 
morial which I have sent you, which amounts, in fact, 
to an absolute refusal of the principal request con- 
tained in it, namely, those relating to the change and 



382 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

conveniences of dwelling, intelligence concerning the 
affairs of my dowry by the Sienr de Cherelles, and 
the increase of the number of my servants — things, 
though trifling and of no importance to the Queen of 
England, madam my good sister, yet so necessary for 
the preservation of my life and health, so mainly con- 
tributing to the few comforts that are left to me in 
this world, and to my consolation between these four 
walls (where I perceive more clearly from day to day 
that they are determined to reduce me to the last ex- 
tremity) that, but for the very urgent need I have of 
them, I should not have stooped to beg for them with 
such earnest and persevering supplications, that I 
think I could not have bought them at a dearer rate ; 
regretting exceedingly that, for all the duty I have 
imposed upon myself to please the said Queen in every 
thing and in every place, so little consideration and 
respect is paid to my honor and content in the matter 
of my state and treatment here. 

" To give you, then, ocular proof of the situation in 
which I find myself in regard to the dwelling in the 
first place, and that you may remonstrate in my be- 
half on the subject with the said Queen, (who, I pre- 
sume, has never been accurately informed about it,) 
I will tell you that I am in a walled enclosure, on the 
top of a hill, exposed to all the winds and the inclem- 
encies of heaven ; within the said enclosure, resembling 
that of the wood of Yincennes, there is a very old 
hunting-lodge, built of timber and plaster, cracked 
in all parts, the plaster adhering nowhere to the wood- 
work, and broken in numberless places ; the said lodge 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 383 

distant three fathoms or thereabouts from the wall, 
and situated so low, that the rampart of earth which 
is behind the wall is on a level with the highest point 
of the building, so that the sun can never shine upon 
it on that side, nor any fresh air come to it ; for which 
reason it is so damp, that you cannot put any piece 
of furniture in that part without its being in four days 
completely covered with mould. I leave you to think 
how this must act upon the human body ; and, in 
short, the greater part of it is rather a dungeon for 
base and abject criminals, than a habitation fit for a 
person of my quality, or even of a much lower. I 
am sure that there is not a nobleman in this king- 
dom, nor even one of those who, being inferior to no- 
blemen, wish to reduce me beneath themselves, who 
would not deem it a tyrannical punishment to be ob- 
liged to live for a year in so straightened and incon- 
venient a habitation, as they want to force and con- 
strain me to do ; and the only apartments that I have 
for my own person, consists — and for the truth of this, 
I can appeal to all those who have been here — of two 
little, miserable rooms, so excessively cold, especially 
at night, that but for the ramparts and entrenchments 
of curtains of tapestry which I have made here, it 
would not be possible for me to stay in them in the 
day-time ; and out of those who have sat up with me 
at night during my illness, scarcely one has escaped 
without fluxion, or cold, or some disorder. Sir Amy- 
as can bear witness that he has seen three of my wo- 
men ill at once from this cause alone ; and my physi- 
cian himself, who has had his share of it, has several 



384: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

times positively declared that lie will not take charge 
of my health during the next winter, if I am to re- 
main in this house. As for replastering or in any way 
repairing or enlarging it, you may conceive how 
wholesome it would be for me to live in such new 
pieces of patchwork, when I cannot endure the least 
breath of damp air in the world ; and on this account 
it is of no use whatever to offer me to make any re- 
pairs or any new conveniences against the winter. As 
for the house to which it is proposed that I should re- 
move during the said repairs, it is a building attached, 
as it were, to this ; and my keeper can testify that it is 
not in his power to lodge the few servants I have ; 
and, without them, I have too many reasons to be 
afraid of living thus apart, wherefore, at this time, I 
will say no more. If I must proceed to inconvenien- 
ces, I have not, as I heretofore informed you, any gal- 
lery or cabinet, to retire to occasionally alone, except- 
ing two paltry holes, with windows facing the dark, 
surrounding wall, and the largest of them not above 
a fathom and a half square. For taking the air 
abroad, on foot, or in my chaise, (there being no vacant 
spot on the top of the hill,) I have only about a quar- 
ter of an acre of ground, contiguous to the stables, 
which Sommer had dug up last winter, and enclosed 
with a fence of dry wood ; a place, to look at, fitter 
to keep pigs in, than to bear the name of garden ; 
there is not a sheep-pen amid the fields but makes a 
better appearance. 

"As for taking exercise on horseback, during the 
whole winter, as I experienced, sometimes snow, some- 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 385 

times rain, break up the roads in such a manner, that 
there is no house containing so many people of the 
lower sort as this does, which can be kept clean long, 
whatever pains may be taken with it. Then, again, 
this house, having no drains to the privies, is subject 
to a continual stench ; and every Saturday they are 
obliged to empty them and the one beneath my win- 
dows, from which I receive a perfume not the most 
agreeable. And if, to the above, I may be permitted 
the opinion which I have conceived of this house, a 
thing to be considered in the case of persons inferior 
in station to me when in ill health, I will say, that as 
this house has been my first prison and place of con- 
finement in this kingdom, where, from the first, I have 
been treated with a great harshness, rudeness, and in- 
dignity, so have I always held it since to be unlucky 
and unfortunate, as last winter, before coming hither, 
I caused to be represented to the said Queen of Eng- 
land ; and in this sinister opinion I have been not a 
little confirmed by the accident of the priest, who, 
after having been grievously tormented, was found 
hanging from the wall opposite to my windows,* 
about which I wrote to you, Monsieur de Mauvissiere ; 
and then, four or five days afterward, another poor 
man was found who had tumbled into the well ; but 
this I did not mean to compare with the other. Then 

* The Catholic priest here mentioned had been persecuted on ac- 
count of his religion; and, to escape further hardships, he hung 
himself in the manner described by Mary, who, on the occasion, 
addressed to Elizabeth an eloquent letter on the duty of permitting 
toleration, which is to be found in Laboureur's work. 
Q* 25 



386 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

I have lost my good Rallay, who was one of the chief 
consolations of my captivity ; another of my servants 
is since dead, and several more have been sorely 
troubled with illness. 

" So I cannot have any convenience or enjoyment 
here ; and, but for the express assurances which ihe 
said Queen, my good sister, gave me, of honorable 
treatment, and which caused me to wait for it with 
patience till now, I never would have set foot in this 
place ; sooner should they have dragged me to it by 
force, as I now protest that nothing but the force of 
constraint makes me stay here, and that, in case my 
life should be cut short by illness, from this time, I 
impute it to the deficiency of my dwelling, and to 
those who are determined to keep me there, with the 
intention, it would seem, to make me wholly despair 
for the future of the good will of the said Queen, my 
good sister, in matters of importance ; since, in such 
reasonable, ordinary wants, I am so ill-used, and prom- 
ises made to me are not kept. To allege that the sea- 
son of the year is already too far advanced, and the 
time too short to provide a new habitation for me, as 
if I had not long ago made remonstrances on the sub- 
ject, is to forget that, at the time my secretary was 
there, he spoke about it very urgently to the Queen, 
my good sister, and left a memorial, at his departure, 
for Mr. Walsyngham. Since then, the point has been 
urged anew by Sommer, as well as by a message from 
my own lips, as by a memorial which was given to 
him, whereupon, I am told that the memorial was de- 
livered to you, Mr. de Mauvissiere, and that the fault 



MARY QTJEEN OF SCOTS. 387 

lies in your not having followed it up ; nevertheless, 
I have written to you several times, and myself solicit- 
ed Sir Amyas about it, so that no trouble has been 
spared on that head. 

"As to the inconveniences of removal at this sea- 
son, and for the provisions requisite to be made, they 
did not stand last year upon such ceremony, when 
they obliged me to leave Sheffield for Winkfield, and 
Winkfield for this place, in the depth of winter, when 
I was scarcely able to turn in bed, which I had kept 
for nearly three months before. This house, which 
had not been inhabited for the space of fifteen or six- 
teen years, was, at that time, prepared in less than 
five weeks, and, such as it was, they lost no time in 
bringing me to it, no matter whether with or without 
my consent. However, I affectionately beg you both 
to insist more urgently and perseveringly than ever, 
in the name of the King, monsieur my good brother, 
and on my own behalf, on my removal from this house 
and the conveniences which, from the foregoing, you 
may judge necessary in the new one that shall be 
appointed for me ; and do not be put off, if you 
please, with excuses, evasions, or fair words that may 
be given you, if they are not to the effect that is ca- 
pable of satisfying and contenting me in this matter. 
Insist, also, by all means, I beg you, on permission 
for the Sieur de Cherelles to come to me, reminding 
the said Queen, my good sister, how she was pleased, 
-till last winter, to allow me to have some one over 
every year to give me an account of my affairs, as it 
is very requisite, and more than reasonable, especially 



888 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

considering the state in which they are at present, 
from the attacks that are daily made upon my rights, 
and the hindrances and annoyances that are given 
me in the enjoyment of the little which is left me of 
my dowry, one-third of which, and more, has already 
been wrested from me by piecemeal ; and it is not in 
my power to apply a remedy, and set things to 
rights, unless I can be minutely informed of the par- 
ticulars by some trusty person, who, it is well known, 
would not attempt to write to me by letters which 
must pass through so many hands, neither would I 
thus openly inform them of my intentions. There is 
no criminal or prisoner, howeYer mean, who is not 
permitted to receive accounts of his private affairs, 
and to manage them as he pleases, prisons having 
never been designed for the punishment of malefac- 
tors, but only for safe custody ; and it seems, on the 
contrary, that, as for me, born a sovereign Queen, who 
sought refuge in this kingdom upon the assurance 
and promise of friendship, they wish to make this 
imprisonment drive me from affliction to the very 
last extremity, as if it were not sufficient that, after 
seventeen of the best years of my life spent in such 
misery, I have lost the use of my limbs, and the 
strength and health of the rest of the body, and that 
various attacks have been made upon my honor, 
but they must persecute me in the bargain, and 
abridge me as much as possible of the property and 
conveniences yet left me in the world. Learn, then, 
if you please, gentlemen, if the Queen, my good sis- 
ter, intends to treat me in future like a condemned 



MART QUEEN OP SCOTS. 389 

criminal, and to keep me in perpetual imprisonment, 
as it would appear from the severity with which I 
am used, without getting rid of me altogether by giv- 
ing me my liberty, (from which, agreeably to the con- 
ditions which I offered, she would derive more advan- 
tage than she ever will from my detention or death,) 
or, on the other hand, affording me occasion to ac- 
commodate myself to her satisfaction in captivity. 
My requests are not made for pleasure, but from ne- 
cessity, not against her safety, but for her honor, and 
such, I may say, as I have more than justly merited. 
What encouragement to do better can it be to me to 
see myself, after the entire voluntary submission to 
which I made up my mind, more harshly and rigor- 
ously treated than ever, and with more demonstration, 
in appearance and reality, of ill will, suspicion, and 
mistrust. 

M I had more servants, when I was with the Earl 
of Shereusbury than I have now, when I have more 
need of them, especially in my chamber, on account 
of the aggravation of my bodily ailments. Reckon 
up those whom I have discharged, or who have died 
without my having, as yet, any others in their place, 
and that family of my embroiderer who is about to 
leave me ; the number of those whom I require will 
not be much greater, nor superior in quality, except- 
ing the Countess of Athol, for whom, also, I applied 
as a favor, because I had about me here, in this soli- 
tude, as I represented, no companion worthy of my 
rank and my age, which would be highly proper and 
suitable. Seton and my good Eallay formerly sup- 



390 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

plied the want of better, and I cannot imagine any- 
sufficient reason for denying me the said countess in 
their stead, unless they are fearful that she may give 
me some consolation, by bringing me tidings of my 
son ; whether in this there be any respect for hu- 
manity, I leave all those to consider, who have really 
felt parental love for their children, which is the 
more fervent in me, because my separation from my 
son is accompanied by so rigid a prohibition of all 
communication between him and me, that I am de- 
barred even from hearing about his state and health. 
I will not hereupon call to mind that the said Queen 
promised me, last winter, that if the answer of my 
son to the letter which I was writing to him, did not 
satisfy and content me, I should have permission to 
send to him again, and to learn more precisely his 
intentions relative to those matters which have been 
in doubt between him and me. Nevertheless, this 
has hitherto been peremptorily refused and denied 
me, without consideration that such conduct tends to 
confirm the intimation given me formerly by the said 
Gray, that in this quarter people were only striving 
to produce division and a total separation between 
my son and me. With respect to the other servants 
whom I have applied for, such as Fontenay, and 
Thomas Levingston, I cannot discover any ground for 
the refusal made me, unless it be that, as formerly, 
the said Gray, at the time of his journey to this coun- 
try, and the Countess of Shereusbury assured me, the 
right way to cause anything whatever to be denied 
me, was to signify that it would be particularly agree- 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 391 

able to me, and then I must never expect to have it, 
but just the contrary to what I desired. They do not 
approve of my employing English, in order to make 
it appear more plainly that I am looked upon as an 
absolute foreigner in their country ; at least they 
ought to allow me to have my own subjects, or French 
people, such as I like, and to receive from their faith- 
ful service some consolation between these four walls, 
where, being confined and watched so closely as they 
are accustomed to be, I know not what just suspicion 
can be conceived of them when once shut up here. 
However, I beg you to make very urgent application 
that I may be permitted to send for those whom I have 
demanded, as well from France as from Scotland, 
according to the promise made to me by the lips of 
the said Queen, my good sister herself, that I should 
have an increase and supply of servants ; a promise 
confirmed to my secretary by Mr. "Walsyngham, and 
since, in his name, by Wadde, having given it in wri- 
ting to my said secretary, and again by Sir Raff Sad- 
ler and Sommer, when there, and lately by my pres- 
ent keeper, being assured in these very words, that I 
might send to France and Scotland for such servants 
as I thought proper, but that I must not have English 
on any account. If they are afraid, lest, by means 
of the said servants whom I desire to bring over from 
France, I should receive news of the affairs of that 
country, it is a vain apprehension, for I have nothing 
wherein to intermeddle there, and if I had any inter- 
est, it is very certain that those who might be well 
affected toward me, and have compassion on my con- 



392 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

dition here, will not take one step less, either forward 
or backward, because they are deprived of the means 
of receiving news from me, and I from them ; on the 
contrary, that would spur them on still more, appre- 
hending the danger from the death to be greater than, 
peradventure, it is. 

" This is, for the present, what I have to communi- 
cate to you on the sudden, concerning the just dissatis- 
faction I feel on finding myself so unworthily used and 
treated ; wherefore, hoping, through your favorable 
intercessions and good offices, to find some remedy, I 
shall only apologize £or having troubled you about 
such bagatelles, and especially for being obliged to 
make known to you my real state here, which otherwise 
might be disguised from you ; so, awaiting your an- 
swer about all this, I pray God to have you, gentle- 
men, in his holy and worthy keeping. Written at the 
Castle of Tuthbury, in England, the vth September, 
1585. Your entirely best friend, 

" Mary K. 

" Gentlemen, I am ashamed to be under the neces- 
sity of representing to you so particularly my mise- 
rable situation here, but the evil presses me, and con- 
strains me to declare it to you, in order that they may 
not put you off, yonder, with words without affording 
me any relief, of which I have no hope whatever, 
since I see nothing at this time which tends to realize 
that honorable treatment which has been so much 
talked of. Sir Amyas had alre'ady signified to me 
the reply to my memorial, and an hour ago I re- 
ceived your last, and on considering both, I find, in 



IAEY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 393 

fact, no cause for content, either in the one or the 
other, which makes me entreat you more earnestly 
than ever, to follow up the contents of the above 
letter." 

She also addressed a" memorial to Elizabeth, in 
which the following particulars confirm the state- 
ments above : 

" That, to settle those matters which formerly led 
to differences between her and her son, she may be 
permitted to send some one to him, accompanied by 
the French ambassador, agreeably to the most express 
commission which he has to this effect from the King, 
his master. 

" That the ordinary communication which she has 
hitherto had with the said ambassador may be con- 
tinued ; and, accordingly, directions given for the 
most diligent dispatch of their packets, as well on the 
one part as on the other ; nothing passing between 
them that can in any way prove prejudicial to this 
kingdom. 

" That her household establishment here be deter- 
mined upon and fixed; in order that 3 as the said 
Queen, her good sister, has been pleased to assure her, 
she may take her into her own keeping, and into her 
own house : also, that from her alone, she may receive 
her allowance in this country. 

" That a second house may be granted her to re- 
move to on finishing her course of diet, or next au- 
tumn, at latest ; it being quite impossible, without 
great detriment to her health, to live in winter in the 



394: MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

two rooms which she has here for the whole of her 
lodgings, which are built of wood, old, full of holes, 
and tumbling down on all sides, and having no shel- 
tered place whatever, to walk in or retire to. 

" That, in regard to the servants allowed her, and 
that they may not have the trouble of traveling hither 
in vain, it be declared whether she shall be permitted 
to bring over any she may choose, as she might se- 
lect some from the household of Guise, having no 
other acquaintance in France through whom to get 
them. 

"And that, as for ordinary varlets, her servants 
may be permitted to employ Englishmen, so as to 
avoid the frequent coming and going of such per- 
sons, whom it is difficult to retain." 

The wretched Mary was a deserted invalid, mourn- 
ing over the unfilial conduct of James VI., who had 
entered upon a negotiation, contemplating the alli- 
ance, by treaty, of Scotland to England. She be- 
came passionately excited at his course, and threat- 
ened to disown, disinherit, and curse him ; approving 
any invasion of his realm by foreign powers. She 
declared that she had no wish again to step upon her 
native soil ; and asked only for repose of body and 
soul, before her death, which, she was persuaded, 
would soon end her captivity. 

Abandoning the hope of escape, she forcibly and 
laconically described her desperate state in these 
words : 

"The old excuses of bygone times are alleged for 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 395 

my detention ; now a change in Scotland, now a dis- 
turbance in France, now the discovery of a conspi- 
racy in this country, and, in fine, the least innovation 
that may occur in any part of Christendom ; so that 
it is likely I shall be liberated, as children say, when 
all the world is at peace and quietness. May Grod in 
his omnipotence be my aid and protection ; and may 
he in his justice judge my cause between me and my 
enemies, as I hope he will do sooner or later."* 

December, 1585, Mary was taken from Tutbury 
to Chartley, in Staffordshire. Though treated more 
kindly, she was watched with no less constancy and 
care. 

"While Mary Stuart thus languished in prison, 
friends to her and the ancient faith she professed, were 
busy with fresh plots for her deliverance. The Eng- 
lish refugees and proscribed priests in the pay of 

* The sorrowful lines, in her favorite language, composed during 
t.his iTYinrisonment, will interest the French reader : 

"Que suis-je, h61as ! et de quoy sert ma vie ? 
Je ne suis fors qu'un corps priv6 de cueur, 
Un ombre vain, un objet de malheur, 
Qui n'a plus rien que de mourir envie. 
Plus ne portez, o ennemis, d'auvie 
A qui n'a plus l'esprit a la grandeur! 
La consomme d' excessive doulleur; 
Votre ire en brief se voirra assouvie ; 
Et vous arnys, qui m'avez tenu chere, 
Souvenez-vous que sans heur, sans santay, 
Je ne scaurois auqun bon oeuvre fayre, 
Souhatez done fin de calamitay ; 
Et que sa bas estant assez punie 
J' aye ma part en la joye infinie." 



396 MAEY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 

Philip II., engaged in a conspiracy for invading the 
kingdom and dethroning Elizabeth. Past experience 
stimulated rather than daunted a faction, whose mis- 
sion was also the spread of a persecuting and corrupt 
church. 

John Savage, an English Catholic, returning from 
an official service in the Spanish army, at Rheims, met 
Dr. William Gilford, a countryman and Papist, who 
suggested, as the highest deed of pious bravery in his 
power, the assassination of Elizabeth — the prelude to a 
maturing plan of invasion. Pie accepted the honor, 
and was to shoot or stab the Queen, in the gallery 
through which she passed to and from chapel. 

But before he could attempt the execution of his 
purpose, a priest, named Ballard, arrived in London, 
May 22d, 1585, on the same mission. Encountering 
Anthony Babington, a gentleman of fortune and gay 
life, who had been for years devoted to Mary Stuart, 
Ballard proposed to him the plot. He entered into it 
enthusiastically, and associated with him Savage and 
five of his own friends. "Walsingham, the English 
minister, had arranged a complete system of espion- 
age, and scarcely had the conspirators assembled, 
when his agents were without suspicion admitted to 
their councils. He also communicated to Mary Stu- 
art, through a treacherous Catholic priest, the secret 
designs against Elizabeth, to secure her approval, and 
the inevitable doom which would follow ; and so rid 
the realm of the dreaded captive. 

During the summer, Gifford, Walsingham's spy, 
was busy, preparing the way of access to Mary's par- 



MARY QTTEEN OF SCOTS. 397 

tizans and herself. He at length obtained the necessa- 
ry confidence among the Papists of London, and letters 
of introduction to the prisoner at Chartley. In March, 
1586, he returned from an interview with Mary, the 
accepted messenger of the fatally deluded victim of 
ambition and Catholic zeal. The ignis fatuus of false 
hope again dawned before her fading eye, and her 
pantings after freedom impelled her on to ruin. This 
was the opening work in the celebrated " Babington 
Conspiracy." The presiding genius of the daring 
machination, thus expressed his plans, in a letter 
which GifTord transmitted to Walsingham : 

" Myself in person, with ten gentlemen and a hun- 
dred others of our company and suite, will undertake 
the deliverance of your royal person from the hands 
of your enemies. As regards getting rid of the usur- 
per, from subjection to whom we are absolved, by the 
act of excommunication issued against her, there are 
six gentlemen of quality, all of them my intimate 
friends, who, for the love they bear to the Catholic 
cause and to your majesty's service, will undertake 
the tragic execution. It remains now, that, according 
to their infinite desert, and your majesty's goodness, 
their heroic enterprise should be honorably recom- 
pensed in themselves, if they escape with their lives, 
or in their posterity, if they fall ; and that I may give 
them this assurance by your majesty's authority." 

Poor Mary was in the snares of the artful fowler. 
July 27th, having received the intercepted letter, she 
wrote to Babington as follows : 



398 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

" Affairs being thus prepared, then shall it be time 
to set the six gentlemen to work ; taking order, upon 
the accomplishing of their design, I may suddenly be 
transported out of the place, and that all your forces, 
in the same time, be on the field to meet me, whilst 
we wait the arrival of help from abroad, which must 
then be hastened with all diligence. Nor for that 
there can be no certain day appointed of the accom- 
plishing the said gentlemen's designment — to the 
end that others may be in readiness to take me 
from hence, I would that the said gentlemen had al- 
ways about them, or at the least, at court, four stout 
men furnished with good and speedy horses, for, so 
soon as the said design shall be executed, to come with 
all diligence, to advertise thereof those that shall be 
appointed for my transporting ; to the end that, im- 
mediately thereafter, they may be at the place of my 
abode, before that my keeper can have advice of the 
execution of the said design ; or at least before he can 
fortify himself within the house, or carry me out of 
the same. It were necessary to dispatch two or three 
of the said advertisers by divers ways, to the end that 
if one be staid, the other may come through ; and at 
the same instant, were it also needful, to essay to cut 
off the post's ordinary ways. If I remain here, there 
is for my escape but one of these three means follow- 
ing to be looked to. The first, that at one certain 
day appointed, in my walking abroad on horseback 
on the moors, betwixt this and Stafford, where ordi- 
narily you know very few people do pass, a fifty or 
three-score horsemen, well horsed and armed, come 



MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 399 

to take me there ; as they may easily, my keeper 
having with him ordinarily but eighteen or twenty 
horsemen. The second mean is to come at midnight, 
or soon after, to set fire in the barns and stables, which 
you know are near to the house ; and whilst that my 
guardian's servants shall rush forth to the fire, your 
company (having every one a mark whereby they 
may know one another under night,) might surprise the 
house, where I hope, with the few servants I have 
about me, I were able to give you correspondence. 
And the third : some that bring carts hither, ordina- 
rily coming early in the morning ; their carts might 
be so prepared, and with such cart-leaders, that being 
cast in the midst of the great gate, the cart might fall 
down or overwhelm, and that thereupon you might 
come suddenly with your followers to make yourself 
master of the house, and carry me away." 

When Walsingham had possessed himself of all 
the proofs required, and the track of each conspira- 
tor, he informed Elizabeth of the terrible intrigues 
around her throne. She was alarmed, and ordered 
an immediate arrest of the guilty men. "With mani- 
fold difficulties and partial failures, the leaders were 
secured in the Tower. Walsingham now was ready 
to treat Mary Stuart as their accomplice. According 
to an unsuspected arrangement, she was invited to 
join a hunting party in a neighboring park ; she glad- 
ly accepted. It was on the 8th of August ; and while 
riding away from Chartley, Sir Thomas Gorges ap- 
peared before her, informed her of the discovered 



400 MARY QTJEEN OF SCOTS. 

conspiracy, and of orders to conduct her to Tixall 
Castle, whose grounds were the sporting field in view, 
The astonished Queen was silent awhile, then with 
great vehemence indulged in bitter reproaches, and 
inquired of her attendants if they would permit the 
disgraceful capture, without an effort to defend her 
person. She was led to the fortress, confined in a 
small apartment, and allowed to see none but stran- 
gers. During the absence of seventeen days from 
Chartley, her desks were opened by Wood and Pau- 
let, who transmitted her papers, jewelry and money 
to Elizabeth. The Queen of England was relieved, 
and joyful; and thanked extravagantly the Yandals 
for their pillage. August 25th, when with a large 
escort of horsemen she reentered Chartley, the spec- 
tacle of her desolate room kindled her indignation, 
and she exclaimed, " There are two things which the 
Queen of England can never take from me — the 
blood royal which gives me a right to the succession 
of England, and the attachment which makes my 
heart beat for the religion of my fathers." 

Babington, Ballard and Savage, were condemned 
for treason, and to make their fate the more influen- 
tial in deterring others from similar crimes, they were 
put to the torture, and made the targets of royal 
vengeance. 

September 20th, with their confederates, they were 
taken to St. Giles-in-fields, where they had held their 
meetings, and there drawn and quartered in the sight 
of a horror-smitten populace. Elizabeth accumula- 
ted evidence of Mary's guilt, and yet the fear of for- 



MAKY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 401 

eign interference, and the enmity of powerful friends 
of the prisoner, created hesitation and conflicting 
emotions, before she decided to bring her to trial. 

Mary no longer fanned the embers of hope ; she 
wept at the threshold of her last earthly trial, whose 
issues would deliver up to the final audit, that ar- 
raigns alike Kings and serfs, her eventful career. 



26 



CHAPTER IX. 

mart stuart is arraigned before the high court of justice — scenes 

of the trial elizabeth hesitates to pronounce the sentence of 

death, according to the unanimous voice of the commissioners 

the result of the trial is announced to mary letters to friends 

her last message to elizabeth interference of foreign courts 

unnatural conduct of james vi. elizabeth signs the warrant 

of mart's execution — paulet refuses to slay his prisoner private- 
ly THE OFFICERS OF JUSTICE REPAIR TO FOTHERINGAY CASTLE THE 

SCENES THERE THE WARRANT IS READ TO MARY HER REPLY AF- 
FECTING INTERVIEWS HER LAST NIGHT WRITES HER WILL PROSPECT 

OF DEATH. 

Nineteen years of caf>tivity had worn away, and 
Mary Stuart's death, which had been often suggested 
and anxiously desired, was the theme of grave and 
final discussion between Elizabeth and her privy 
council. Closer imprisonment was urged in opposi- 
tion to capital punishment. But the consideration of 
the safety of the Queen of England, and the triumph 
of Protestantism, decided the vote for a public trial, 
and judicial sentence. The statute under which the 
prisoner was arraigned, was the law passed after the 
act of association expired, the year before, conferring 
the power to prosecute and execute any person who 
should assert a right to the English throne, or engage 



MARY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 403 

in plots to wrest the crown from the brow of Eliza- 
beth. This was more plausible than the statute of 
Edward III, on high treason. 

Mary was indicted October 5th, 1586, before a 
court of state officers, peers, and counselors of the 
sovereign. The whole number of eminent names in 
the tribunal was forty-six. Fortheringay Castle, in 
Northamptonshire, was selected as the place of trial. 
Mary Stuart was escorted to the fortress the next day, 
where she received a letter from Elizabeth, repeating 
her cutting accusations, and urging her to submit to 
the course of justice. Turning to Paulet and Mild- 
may, her keeper and privy counselor, she said, with 
great emotion and resentment : 

" What ! does your mistress not know that I am a 
Queen born? Does she think that I will degrade my 
rank, my condition, the race from which I spring, the 
son who is to succeed me, the foreign kings and prin- 
ces whose rights would be injured in my person, by 
obeying such a letter as that ! — Never ! Humbled as 
I may seem, my heart is too great to submit to any 
humiliation ! " 

She added, further, that she was deprived of her 
papers, destitute of advisers, and surrounded by ene- 
mies ; that she was ignorant of the laws and the statutes 
of the kingdom, where she must look in vain for peers 
competent to try her ; and finally declared that she 
was innocent. "I have neither," she said, "directed 
nor encouraged any attempt against your mistress. I 
am certain that nothing of the kind can be proved 
against me, although I frankly confess that, when my 



404 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

sister had rejected all my offers, I committed myself 
and my cause to the care of foreign princes." 

Mary's refusal to be treated as a criminal, and as- 
serting her queenly dignity, did not foil her captor, 
who ordered the commissioners to commence the in- 
vestigation ; while, to obtain consent to the legal or- 
deal, she wrote the desolate, yet proud descendant of 
Bruce, in this strain : 

" You have tried in various ways to take my life, 
and to ruin my kingdom by bloodshed. I have never 
acted so harshly towards you, but, on the contrary, 
have preserved you as if you were my second self. 
Your treasonable acts will be proved and made man- 
ifest. For this reason, our pleasure is that you reply 
to the nobles and peers of my kingdom, as you would 
do if I myself were present. I require and command 
you to do this. I have been informed of your arro- 
gance : act with candor, and you shall be treated with 
greater favor." 

Lord Burghley advised Mary to yield to what was 
inevitable ; and after a night of mental anguish — 
the fierce struggle of wounded pride with resistless 
power — she gave her consent to answer her judges 
upon the charges presented. 

October 14th, followed by a detachment of halber- 
diers, and supported by her maitre d'hotel, Sir An- 
drew Melville, and her physician, Bourgoin, for she 
walked with great difficulty, she descended into the 



MARY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 405 

great hall of Fortheringay, where the commissioners 
were seated in the form of a court of justice. At 
one end of the hall, under a dais, surmounted by the 
arms of England alone, stood, in an elevated position, 
an arm-chair, reserved for the absent Queen Eliza- 
beth, and which remained unoccupied. On each side 
of the dais were ranged, in the order of their respec- 
tive dignities, the different commissioners : on the 
right, the Lord Chancellor Bromley, the Lord High 
Treasurer Burghley, the Earls of Oxford, Kent, Der- 
by, Worcester, Rutland, Cumberland, Warwick, Pem- 
broke, Lincoln, and Yiscount Montagu ; on the left, 
Lords Abergavenny, Zouch, Morley, Stafford, Grey, 
Lumley, and other peers, next to whom were the 
Lords of the Privy Council, Crofts, Hatton, Walsing- 
hani, Sadler, Mildmay, and Paulet. More in the 
front were placed, on the right, the Chief Justices of 
England and Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and on 
the left, the other judges and barons, along with two 
doctors of civil law. In the centre were seated, 
around a table, the Queen's Attorney General, Pop- 
ham; her Solicitor, Egerton ; her Law Sergeant, 
Gawdy; and Thomas Powell, Clerk of the Crown; 
together with two clerks of the court, to write out the 
proceedings. A few gentlemen of the neighborhood 
who were allowed to be present, stood at the bar.* 

The helpless Queen was undaunted by the brilliant 
and solemn array of England's statesmen and jurists, 
and offered her salutations with the mournful air of 

* Mignet. 



406 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

fallen greatness, and the gracefulness of perfect re- 
finement. When led to the velvet chair designed for 
her, and set without the royal canopy, she was touched 
with the insult to her dignity, and said with imperial 
tone, " I am a Queen ; I was married to a King of 
France, and my place should be there." Then glan- 
cing along the aisle of nobles and counselors, she 
added, " Alas ! there are a great number of counsel- 
ors here, and yet not one of them is for me." 

Bromley, the Chancellor, rose as Mary Stuart took 
her seat, and opened the imposing trial, by declaring 
the imperative duty the cause of God and invaded 
authority imposed upon Elizabeth, to arraign and try 
the prisoner. The clerk of the crown followed with 
the reading of the commission of the court. Mary, 
in reply, claimed her rights as a princess, and accused 
her rival of unkindly abusing her confidence, in re- 
jecting all overtures, and detaining her a captive. 

The intercepted letters, and the confessions of the 
conspirators, were then read. Mary immediately, 
and without the slightest embarrassment, assailed the 
testimony, denying its validity, because the documents 
were copies of unproduced originals, and the deposi- 
tions were those of men whom she had never seen. 
She summed up her defence in these words, sighing 
deeply while she proceeded : 

" I do not deny having wished for liberty, and hav- 
ing earnestly tried to regain it. Nature urged me to 
this ; but I take God to witness, that I have never 
conspired against the life of the Queen of England, 
and that I never approved of such a conspiracy. I 



MAET QUEEN OE SCOTS. 407 

confess that I wrote to my friends, soliciting their aid 
in delivering me from the wretched prisons, where I 
have been held captive for nineteen years. . I confess, 
too, that I have often written in favor of the persecu- 
ted Catholics, and that if I conld have delivered them 
from oppression by the shedding of my own blood, I 
would have done it. But the letters produced against 
me were not written by me, and I cannot be answerable 
for the dangerous designs of desperate persons, who 
are unknown to me." 

The Lord Treasurer answered with a close analysis 
of the Babington letter, and the corroborative evi- 
dence. Mary adroitly adhered to her position, and 
glanced at the character of such witnesses as she 
knew, with much discrimination and sarcasm ; and 
thus closed her spirited and well delivered argument : 

"And am I, a Queen, to be judged guilty on such 
proofs as these ? Is it not manifest, that there must 
be an end to the majesty and security of princes, if 
they are made to depend on the writings and the tes- 
timony of their secretaries ? I claim the privilege of 
being judged from my own words and my own wri- 
tings, and I am certain that none will be found against 
me." 

Upon the second hearing before the commissioners, 
Mary did not repudiate all of her alleged correspon- 
dence, but still protested her innocence. She said, " I 
have been anxious that the safety of the Catholics 
should be provided for, but I never wished that it should 
be obtained by means of bloodshed and murder. I 
have preferred the part of Esther to that of Judith, seek- 



408 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

ing rather to intercede with God for the people, than 
to deprive even the meanest of them of life." 

The invasion of England and Elizabeth's death, it 
was maintained, were connected inseparably. The 
prisoner insisted that she was guiltless of any design 
against the life of the Queen of England : with the 
eloquence of finished oratory and tears, she went on 
to say : 

" With what justice am I treated! My letters have 
been picked out and perverted from their original 
meaning, and the originals have been taken from me. 
]STo consideration is shown for the religion which I pro- 
fess, and the sacred character I bear as Queen. If my 
sentiments, my lords, are personally indifferent to 
you, you might at least consider the majesty of roy- 
alty, which is injured in my person, and think of the 
example you are setting. I entered this country con- 
fiding in the friendship and the promises of the Queen 
of England," and then, taking a ring from her finger, 
and holding it up to her judges, "Here, my lords, 
here is the pledge of love and protection which I re- 
ceived from your royal mistress. Look well at it. It 
was in reliance upon this that I came among you. 
Nobody knows better than yourselves how this pledge 
has been respected." She then demanded to be 
heard before Parliament, or to have an interview with 
Elizabeth, and added, "As one who is accused of 
crimes, I claim the privilege of an advocate to plead 
my cause ; or else, as a Queen, I call upon you to 
believe the word of a Queen." 

After this appeal, October 15th, 1586, the commis- 



MAEY QUEEN OF SOOTS. 409 

sioners unanimously gave the sentence of condemna- 
tion against the unhappy and defenceless Mary. The 
last act of her stern jurors and judges, which sealed 
her fate, charged her with the knowledge of the Bab- 
ington plot, to destroy Elizabeth, and invade England 
with a Papal army. The legitimacy and honor of 
James YI. were carefully guarded in the ruin of the 
mother. Parliament assembled, and approved the 
decision ; with expressions of thanksgiving to God for 
the discovery of the dangerous schemes of their sove- 
reign's enemies, the members of both houses demand- 
ed of the Queen the execution of the sentence of the 
high court of the realm. In reply, she rendered 
praise to the Divine Goodness for miraculous deliver- 
ance from so many perils, and closed a message of 
regret that she was compelled to deal severely with 
" the unfortunate lady," in the following language : 

" Do not hurry my decision. It is an affair of great 
importance, and I am accustomed to deliberate longer 
on less weighty matters before making up my mind. 
I shall pray Almighty God to enlighten my under- 
standing, and to show me what will be best for the 
interests of his church, the prosperity of my people, 
and your own security." 

Elizabeth's mind was distressed with the responsi- 
bility which she could not escape. How far her ap- 
parent agitation was designed for effect, is a matter 
of conjecture, founded upon the general estimate of 
her character. But there was occasion to feel, as she 
said, more perplexed than ever before — that she 
could have wished to preserve her own life without 
R 



410 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

sacrificing that of another — and that it appeared 
cruel to dip the hands of the executioner in the blood 
of so near a relative. In putting off with further de- 
lay the importunate Parliament, she closed the inter 
view with the chancellor and speaker, saying : " If 
I accede to your request, I should say, perhaps, more 
than I think; and, if. I reject it, I precipitate myself 
into the very danger from which you would save me. 
Accept, I pray you, my thanks and my perplexities, 
and take in good part an answer which is no answer." 
Meanwhile, November 10th, Lord Bathurst and 
Robert Beale, clerk of the council, were dispatched 
to Fotheringay Castle, and announced to Mary the 
result of the trial, and the vote of Parliament, and 
urged an immediate preparation for execution. The 
terrible tidings were listened to by the royal captive 
with no visible signs of alarm or grief. She thanked 
God for being deemed worthy to be instrumental in 
advancing the Catholic faith, and to suffer in the holy 
cause. The messengers of doom assured her, that 
she could neither be regarded as a saint or a martyr, 
having been involved in the fearful intrigues, whose 
aim was an armed invasion of the kingdom, and the 
overthrow of its sovereign. She was treated thence- 
forth with marked indignity. Her request for a spir- 
itual adviser was rejected ; and Paulet ordered a can- 
opy bearing her arms to be removed. The friendless 
Queen wrote the Pope, asking his blessing, commit- 
ting her son to his fatherly care, and resigned herself 
to the prospect of hastening death. The following 
letters were written at this time. They disclose her 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 411 

frame of feeling, and her ardent devotion to the 
church of Rome. 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO DON BEENAED DE MENDOCA* 

" My very dear friend — Having ever found you 
zealous in the cause of God, and desirous of my wel- 
fare and deliverance from captivity, I have always 
communicated to you all my intentions upon that 
subject, begging you to make them known to the 
Xing, my good brother. For this Same reason I now 
write to bid you a last adieu, notwithstanding the 
little leisure I have, being about to receive the stroke 
of death, which was announced to me on Saturday 
last ; I do not know when, or in what manner ; but 
at least you may praise God for me that, through his 
grace, I have had the heart to receive this unjust sen- 
tence of heretics with resignation, on account of the 
happiness which I esteem it to shed my blood at the 
requisition of the enemies of His church, who do me 
the honor to say that it cannot be subverted while I 
am alive, and also that their Queen cannot reign in 
safety in the same predicament. 

" As for these two conditions, I have accepted with- 
out contradiction the high honor which they confer 
upon me, as one most zealous for the Catholic religion 
for which I have publicly offered my life ; and, as for 
the other, although I have never committed either act 
or deed tending to take off her who was on the throne, 
unless it be that they make a crime of my right to 

* The Spanish Ambassador. 



412 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

the crown, which is acknowledged by all Catholics, 
yet I would not contradict them, leaving them to 
think as they please. This annoyed them much, and 
they told me that, whatever I might say or do, it 
will not be for the cause of religion that I shall die, 
but for having endeavored to murder their Queen. 
This I denied, as being utterly false, having never at- 
tempted any such thing, and leaving it to God and 
the church to dispose of this island in what relates to 
religion. 

" The bearer of this has promised to relate to you 
how rigorously I have been treated by those here, and 
how ill served by others whom I did not expect to 
have shown so great a fear of death in so just a quar 
rel. They have not been able to draw anything 
from me but that I am a Queen, free, Catholic, and 
obedient to the church ; and that, not being able 
to effect my deliverance by fair means, I was com- 
pelled to seek it by those which presented themselves. 
Nau has confessed all ; Curie has in a great measure 
followed his example ; so that everything turns against 
me. I am threatened, if I do not beg pardon ; but I 
say that, as they had already destined me to die, they 
might proceed with their injustice, hoping that God 
will recompense me in another world ; and, out of 
spite, because I will not speak, they came yesterday, 
Monday, and took down my canopy,* saying that 1 
was no more than a dead woman, and without any 
rank. They are at present working in my hall — ■ 
erecting the scaffold, I suppose, whereon I am to per- 

* A cloth of state, or a sort of throne. 



MARY QUEEN OP SCOTS. 413 

form tlie last act of this tragedy. I die in a just 
cause, and am happy in having made over my rights 
to the King, your master. I have said that I consid- 
er him, should my son not return to the bosom of the 
church, as being a prince the most worthy to govern 
and direct this island. I have written to the same 
purpose to his Holiness, and I beg you to assure him 
that I die in the determination which I have commu- 
nicated to you, and also another, whom you know to 
be his dearest and most intimate friend, and a fourth, 
and these above all others I bequeath to the protec- 
tion of the King, beseeching him in God's name not 
to abandon them, and entreating them to serve him in 
place of me. As I cannot write to them, greet them 
in my name, and pray to God, all of you, for my soul. 
I have asked for a priest ; but I do not know if my 
request will be granted. They have offered me one 
of their bishops ; but I positively refused him. You 
may believe all that the bearer of this shall tell you, 
and also those two poor girls who have been immedi- 
ately about my person ; they will tell you the truth, 
which I beg you to make public, as I fear that a very 
different interpretation will be given. Order a mass 
to be said for the deliverance and repose of my soul ; 
you know the place I mean — and let the churches in 
Spain remember me in their prayers. Keep the name 
of the bearer of this secret ; he has been, a faithful 
servant to me. God grant you a long and happy life ! 
You will receive from me as a token of my remem- 
brance, a diamond, which I have held very dear, hav- 
ing been given to me by the late Duke of Norfolk as 



414 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

a pledge of his troth, and I have always worn it as 
such : keep it for my sake. I do not know if I shall 
have leave to make a will. I have applied for it, but 
they have all my money. God be with you ! Excuse 
what I write in sorrow and trouble, not having any 
one to help me to make my rough draughts, and to 
write for me. If you cannot read my hand, the bearer 
will read it for you, or my ambassador, whom he 
knows. 

"Among other accusations, that of Criton (Crigh- 
ton) is one which I know nothing of. I fear greatly 
that ]N"au and Pasquier have hastened my death, 
having kept some papers, and they are men who will 
turn on any side for their own advantage. Would to 
God Fontenay had been here ! He is a young man of 
great knowledge and resolution. 

" Once more, adieu. I recommend to you my poor, 
and henceforth destitute servants, and pray for my 
soul. 

" From Fotheringay, Wednesday, the 23d of No- 
vember, 1586. I recommend to you the poor Bishop 
of Ross, who will be shortly destitute. 

" Your very obliged and perfect friend, 

" Mary R." 

THE QUEEN OF SCOTS TO THE DUKE OF GUISE. 

"My good cousin — You whom I hold most dear 
in the world, I bid you farewell, being on the point 
of being put to death, by an unjust judgment, such a 
one as never any belonging to our race yet suffered, 
much less one of my rank. But praise God, my good 



MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 415 

cousin ; for, situated as I have been, I was useless to 
the world in the cause of God and his church ; but I 
hope that my death will bear witness of my constan- 
cy in the faith, and my readiness to die for the sup- 
port and restoration of the Catholic church in this 
unfortunate island. And though executioner never 
yet dipped his hand in our blood, be not ashamed, my 
friend ; for the judgment of these heretics and ene- 
mies of the church, and who have no jurisdiction over 
me, a free Queen, is profitable before God and the 
children of his church, which, had I not adhered to, 
this stroke had been spared me. All those of our 
house have been persecuted by this sect; witness, 
your good father, with whom I hope to be received in 
mercy by the just Judge. 

" I recommend, then, to you, all my poor servants, 
the discharge of my debts, and the founding of some 
annual obit for my soul ; not at your expense, but to 
make such solicitation and arrangements as shall be 
requisite to fulfill my intentions, which you will be 
informed of by my poor, disconsolate servants, eye- 
witnesses of this, my last tragedy. 

" May God prosper your wife, children, brothers 
and cousins, and especially our head, my good broth- 
er and cousin, and all belonging to him ! May the 
blessing of God, and that which I should give to my 
own children, be upon yours, whom I commend to 
God, not less sincerely than my own unfortunate and 
deluded son ! Tou will receive tokens (rings) from 
me to remind you to have prayers said for the soul of 
your poor cousin, destitute of all aid and counsel but 



416 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

that of God, who gives me strength and courage to 
withstand alone so man y wolves howling after me ; to 
God be the glory ! Believe, in particular, a person 
who will give yon, in my name, a ruby ring, for I as- 
sure you, upon my conscience, that this person will 
tell' you the truth agreeably to my desire, especially 
as to what concerns my poor servants, and the share 
of each. I recommend to you this person for her sin- 
cerity and honesty, in order that she may be put into 
some good place. I have chosen her as being the 
most impartial, and as one who will most simply re- 
port my commands. I beg you not to let it be known 
that she has said anything to you in private, for envy 
might injure her. 

" I have suffered, much for the last two years and 
upward, but have not been able to inform you of it 
for an important reason. God be praised for all 
things, and may he give you grace to persevere in the 
service of his church, so long as you live, and may 
that honor never depart from our race, that all of us, 
both males and females, may be ready to shed our 
blood in the defence of the faith, regardless of all 
other worldly interests ! For my own part, I think 
myself born, both on the father's and the mother's 
side, to offer up my blood for it, and have no inten- 
tion to degenerate. May Jesus, crucified for us, and 
all the holy martyrs, render us, by their intercession, 
worthy of the free-will offering of our bodies for his 
glory. From Fotheringay, Thursday, this 2-ith Nov. 

" Thinking to degrade me, they took down my can- 
opy ; and my keeper afterward came and offered to 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 417 

write to the Queen, saying that this act had not been 
done by her command, bnt by the advice of some of 
her council. I showed them, on the said canopy, in 
place of my coat of arms, the cross of my Saviour. 
You will be informed of all that was said ; they have 
since been more indulgent. 

" Your affectionate cousin and perfect friend, 
" Maky R., of Scotland, 

Dowager of France. 

Whether the touching communication was received 
or not, is unknown. 

A sonnet written with the violent close of existence 
in view, is melancholy evidence of poetical genius, 
which, through years of suffering, had seldom breath- 
ed in verse the captive's moan. 

" Alas ! what am I ? and in what estate ? 

A wretched corse, bereaved of its heart ; 

An empty shadow lost, unfortunate ; 

To die is now in life my only part. 

Foes to my greatness, let your envy rest; 

In me no taste for grandeur now is found, 

Consumed by grief, with heavy ills opprest, 

Your wishes and desires will soon be crowned. 

And you, my friends, who still have held me dear, 

Bethink you, that when health and heart are fled, 

And every hope of future good is dead, 

' Tis time to wish our sorrows ended here, 

And that this punishment on earth is given, 

That I may live to endless bliss in heaven."* 

* Written on a large sheet of paper. 

"Que suis-je, helas ? et de quoy sert la vie? 
Je'n suis fors qn'un corps prive de coeur, 
R* 27 



4:18 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

She also sent her last message to Elizabeth, in affect- 
ing language, breathing the crushed ambition of a 
long life — regard for a form which had been the ad- 
miration of the world — and solicitude for those, 
however humble, who were faithful unto death : 

" Madam, I return thanks to God with all my heart, 
that it pleases him to put an end, through your de- 
cree, to the weary pilgrimage of my life. I do not 
ask that it may be prolonged, having had but too long 
experience of its bitterness. I only beseech your 
majesty that, as I cannot look for any kindness from 
certain zealous ministers who hold the highest rank 
in the government of England, I may receive from 
you alone, and not from others, the following favors : 

" In the first place, I ask that, as it is not allowable 
for me to expect a burial in England, according to 
the Catholic solemnities practised by the ancient 
kings, your ancestors and mine, and as in Scotland 
dishonor and violence has been done to the ashes of 
my progenitors — as soon as my enemies shall be 
satiated with my innocent blood, my body may be 
carried by my servants into some godly land, especi- 

Un ombre vain, un object de malhur, 
Qui n'a plus rien que de mourir en vie. 
Plus neme portez — ennemis, d'envie: 
Qui. n'a plus 1' esprit a, la grandeur, 
"Votre ire en bref devoir assouvir. 
*£t vous amis, qui m'avez tenu ebere, 
Souvenez-vous que sans coeur, et sans sant6 
Je ne scaurois aucun bon oeuvre faire ; 
Souhaitez done fin de calamite. 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 419 

ally France, where the bones of the Queen, my hon- 
ored mother, repose, in order that this poor body, 
which has never known repose since it has been 
united to my soul, may at length find peace when 
separated from it. 

"Secondly, I pray your majesty, from the appre- 
hension I feel for the tyranny of those to whose pow- 
er you have abandoned me, that I may not be executed 
in any secret place, but in the sight of my domestics and 
other persons who may be able to bear witness to my 
faith and obedience in the true church, and to defend 
the remainder of my life and my last breath from the 
false reports which my enemies may spread. 

" Thirdly, I request that my domestics, who have 
served me through so many troubles, and with so 
much fidelity, may be allowed to retire freely wher- 
ever they may wish to go, and to enjoy the small 
presents which my poverty has bequeathed them in 
my will. 

"I conjure you, madam, by the blood of Jesus 
Christ, by our relationship, by the memory of Henry 
YIL, our common parent, and by the title of 
Queen, which I still bear till death, not to refuse 
these my reasonable requests, and to give me assu- 
rance of that by a line under your hand ; and there- 
upon I will die, as I have lived, your affectionate 
sister and prisoner." 

Whether the touching communication was received 
or not, is unknown. 
The condemnation of Mary had aroused adjacent 



4:20 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

kingdoms, and startled the civilized world. Ambas- 
sadors from Scotland and France arrived at the court 
of England, to intercede with ■ expostulations and 
threats in behalf of the desolate princess. Elizabeth 
answered that mercy to Mary Stuart would be cruel- 
ty to herself; and to make a demonstration of popu- 
lar feeling in the face of foreign remonstance, she di- 
rected the sentence of the court to be proclaimed in 
the streets of London. The Lord Mayor, Earl of Pem- 
broke, and the aldermen, attended the ceremony. 
The last tones of the herald's voice were lost in ac- 
clamations and ringing of bells, while bonfires illu- 
mined at night the rocking towers of every belfry 
in the capital. For twenty-four hours these rejoicings 
continued. The ambassadors of Henry III., of France, 
anticipating the immediate execution of Mary, inter- 
posed a petition for a postponement of the fatal blow. 

In the meantime, M. de Bellievere, one of the envoys, 
embarked for France, and Elizabeth sent to confront 
him, a special messenger, instructed to resent the 
King's bold interference, and explain her own acts. 

James VI. manifested no very intense interest in 
his mother's deliverance. Ruled by her political pol- 
icy of grasping at all hazards, power, he preferred 
the alliance with Elizabeth to Mary's life. He con- 
gratulated the Queen of England upon the detection 
of the late conspiracy ; and said respecting the pris- 
oner, that she had broken her promises to Elizabeth, 
and must drink the draught she had " brewed for 
herself." But when it was known that the sentence 
of death was impending, the King, who had not an- 



MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 421 

ticipated tins result, sent William Keith with a filial, 
menacing message to the court of England. Upon 
receiving a haughty reply from Elizabeth, James 
cowered, and simply pressed the demand that his 
mother be no more than securely confined. The 
choice of peace with allies instead of yielding to the 
impulses of strongest natural affection, awakened the 
indignation of his subjects, and murmurs of disappro- 
val were heard whenever he crossed the threshold of 
his palace. Elizabeth continued undecided. Rumors 
of new conspiracies were abroad ; a prisoner in New- 
gate had proposed to D'Estroppes, member of the 
French embassy, if he would pay him one hundred 
and twenty crowns, which would release the debt that 
incarcerated him, to assassinate the Queen. The offer 
was promptly spurned, but accusations which were 
made by a disappointed conspirator, Stafford, involved 
the ambassadors of Henry in serious trouble. Eliza- 
beth became sad and gloomy; amusements were 
abandoned, and she was overheard repeating to her- 
self the Latin quotation : u Aut fer aut / ne feriare 
fivi" " Strike or be struck ; if you would not be 
struck, strike." 

The crisis had come when she must take the re- 
sponsibility of final action on Mary's fate. Februa- 
ry 1st, 1587, Secretary Davison, who was summoned 
to her presence, appeared before her with the 
warrant of execution, drawn by High Treasurer 
Humphrey. She read it carefully, asked for a pen, 
and signed the instrument of death. She forbade a 
public execution, and ordered that it should take 



422 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

place in the great hall of the castle, instead of the 
open court ; intimating strongly that Paulet, the 
keeper, and his companions, might Lave relieved her 
of the burden of deciding the matter, had they "been 
anxious to serve her. The same day, Davison and 
Walsingham wrote to Paulet the following : 

" After our cordial greetings, we perceive, from 
some words lately spoken by her majesty, that she 
remarks in you a want of diligence and of zeal in 
not having discovered of yourselves (without other 
instigation) some mode of putting that Queen to 
death, considering the great danger to which her 
majesty is exposed, as loug as the said Queen is in 
life. ~Not to speak of the want of affection towards 
her, her majesty remarks further, that you do not 
consider your own safety, or rather the preservation 
of religion, of the public weal, and of the prosperity 
of your country, as reason and policy require you to 
do. Your conscience would be peaceful before God, 
and your reputation clear before the world, since you 
have taken the solemn oath of the Association, and 
since, moreover, the facts charged against that Queen 
have been clearly proved. Her majesty, therefore, 
feels great displeasure at men who profess attach- 
ment to her, as you do, thus failing in their duty, and 
seeking to throw on her the weight of this affair, well 
knowing, as you do, her repugnance to the shedding 
of blood, particularly that of a person of her sex and 
her rank, and so near a relative. 

" We perceive that these considerations trouble her 
majesty greatly, who, we can assure you, has repeat- 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 423 

edly declared that if she did not feel a greater con- 
cern for the dangers which her faithful subjects and 
her good servants run, than for those which threaten 
herself, she would never consent that this Queen's 
blood should be shed. We think it very necessary to 
inform you of these sentiments expressed not long 
since by her majesty, and to submit them to your 
good judgment, and so we recommend you to the 
Almighty's protection." 

Paulet received this appeal to unscrupulous loyalty, 
February 2d, at evening ; though an unfeeling jailer, 
he was above cowardly murder, and wrote in reply : 

" Having received your letter of yesterday at five 
o'clock in the afternoon of this day, I could not fail 
to send you an answer witli all possible dispatch, as 
you direct. I send it you in all the bitterness which 
my heart feels at being so unfortunate as to see the 
day when, by the injunctions of my most gracious 
sovereign, I am required to commit an act which God 
and the laws forbid. My property, my place, and 
my life, are at her majesty's disposal, and I am ready 
to surrender them to-morrow, if such is her good 
pleasure, acknowledging that I hold them from her 
sole and gracious favor; I do not desire to enjoy them 
but with the good will of her highness. But God 
preserve me from making such a pitiable shipwreck 
of my conscience, or leaving so foul a stain on my 
posterity, as to shed blood without the authority of 
the law, and without a public act. I hope her majes- 
ty, with her accustomed clemency, will take my loyal 
answer in good part" 



424: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

Elizabeth, upon reading this spirited and manly 
letter, uttered expressions of scorn ; and had no other 
alternative than to let penalty reach its illustrious 
mark.. 

With the papers properly signed and sealed, 
the members of the privy council proceeded to the 
concluding deed in the slow destruction of a beauti- 
ful and powerless Queen. Mary was in awful sus- 
pense, fearing especially secret assassination. Febru- 
I ary 5th, Robert Beale, Elizabeth's envoy to James VI., 
accompanied by the London executioner, arrived at 
Fotheringay Castle. He acquainted the castellans 
with his mission, and then hastened to the Earls of 
Kent and Shrewsbury, who were to see the sen- 
tence executed on the morning of the 8th. About 
noon of the 7th, all the actors in the approach- 
ing scene of blood, were assembled in the cas- 
tle. Alarm seized the servants, as the signs of 
the dreaded consummation gathered about them. 
Mary was on her couch in bodily weakness and 
pain. The Earls requested to see her ; and she re- 
plied, though ill, if it were deemed necessary, she 
would meet them. "When told delay was not permit- 
ted, she dressed herself, and seated by a small work 
table, calmly awaited their coming. Her limited 
retinue was around her. The grand marshal of 
England, followed by Beale and the jailers, entered 
the room uncovered and bowing, and told the mourn- 
ful captive that the sentence delayed more than 
two months, could no longer be deferred ; that 
Elizabeth was forced to the execution of it by the 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 425 

clamor of her subjects, and they had come to do 
her will. 

Mary serenely listened, and then desired Beale to 
read the warrant for the execution : 

Warrant for the Execution of the Queen of Scots. 

" Elizabeth, by the grace of God, Queen of England, France, and 
Ireland, <fcc. To our trusty and well beloved cousins, George, Earl 
of Shrewsbury, Earl Marshal of England, Henry, Earl of Kent, 
Henry, Earl of Derby, George, Earl of Cumberland, and Henry, 
Earl of Pembroke, greeting, &c. 

"Whereas si thence the sentence given by you, and others of our 
Council, Nobility and Judges, against the Queen of Scots, by the 
name of Mary, Daughter of James the Fifth, late king of Scots, 
commonly called the Queen of Scots, and Dowager of France, as is 
to you well known; all the States in the last Parliament assembled 
did not only deliberately, by great advice, allow and approve the 
same sentence as just and honorable, but also with all humbleness 
and earnestness possible, at sundry times require, solicit and press 
us to direct such further execution against her Person, as they did 
adjudge her to have duly deserved; adding thereunto, that the for- 
bearing thereof was, and would be daily, certain and undoubted 
danger, not only unto our own life, biit also unto themselves, their 
posterity, and the publie estate of this Eealm, as well for the cause 
of the Gospel and true Religion of Christ, as for the peace of the 
whole Realm ; whereupon we did, although the same were with 
some delay of time, publish the same Sentence by our Proclama- 
tion, yet hitherto have forborn to give direction for the -further sat- 
isfaction of the aforesaid most earnest requests, made by our said 
States of our Parliament ; whereby we do daily understand, by all 
sorts of our loving subjects, both of our Nobility and Council, and 
also of the wisest, greatest, and best devoted of all subjects of infe- 
rior degrees, how greatly and deeply, from the bottom of their 
hearts they are grieved and afflicted, with daily, yea hourly fears 
of our life, and thereby consequently with a dreadful doubt and 
expectation of the ruin of the present happy and godly estate of this 
Eealm, if we should forbear the further final execution, as it is de- 



426 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

served, and neglect their general and continued requests, prayers, 
counsels and advices, and thereupon, contrary to our natural dis- 
position in such case, being overcome with the evident weight of 
their counsels, and their daily intercessions, imparting such a ne- 
cessity, as appeareth, directly tending to the safety not only of our- 
self, but also to the weal of our whole Realm; we have condescended 
to suffer justice to take place, and for the execution thereof upon the 
special trusty experience and confidence which we have of your loyal- 
ties, faithfulness nnd love, both toward our Person and the safety 
thereof, and also to your native countries, whereof you are most 
noble and principal Members, we do will, and by Warrant hereof 
do authorize you, as soon as you shall have time convenient, to 
repair to our Castle of Fotheringay, where the said Queen of 
Scots is in custody of our right trusty and faithful servant and 
Counsellor, Sir Amy as Powlet, Knight : and then taking her into 
your charge, to cause by your commandment execution to be done 
upon her person, in the presence of yourselves, and the aforesaid 
Sir Amy as Powlet, and of such other officers of justice as you shall 
command to attend upon you for that purpose ; and the same to be 
done in such manner and form, and at such time and place, and by 
such persons, as to five, four, or three of you shall be thought by 
your discretions convenient, notwithstanding any Law, Statute, or 
Ordinance to the contrary : And these our Letters Patents, sealed 
with our Great Seal of England, shall be to you, and every of you, 
and to all persons that shall be present, or that shall be by you 
commanded to do anything appertaining to the aforesaid Execution, 
a full, sufficient Warrant, and discharge forever. And further, we 
are also pleased and contented, and hereby we do will, command, 
and authorize our Chancellor of England, at the requests of you all 
and every of you, the duplicate of our Letters Patents, to be to all 
purposes made, dated, and sealed with our Great Seal of England, 
as these Presents now are. 

"In witness whereof, we have caused these our Letters to be 
made Patents. Given at our Manor of Greenwich, the ] st day of 
February, in the twenty -ninth year of our Reign." 

When the reading was finished, Mary made the 
sign of the cross, and said : 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 427 

" God be praised for the news you bring me. I 
could receive none better, for it announces to me the 
conclusion of my miseries, and the grace which God 
has granted me to die for the honor of his name, and 
of his church, Catholic, apostolic, and Roman. I 
did not expect such a happy end, after the treatment 
I have suffered and the dangers to which I have been 
exj)osed for nineteen years in this country — I, born 
a Queen, the daughter of a king, the grand-daughter 
of Henry YII., the near relation of the Queen of 
England, Queen Dowager of France, and who, though 
a free princess, have been kept in prison without 
legitimate cause, though I am subject to nobody, 
and recognize no superior in this world, excepting 
God." 

Mary laid her hand upon a Testament, and reaf- 
firmed that she never sought, nor consented to any 
means, for taking Elizabeth's life. When the Earl 
of Kent remarked that she swore on a Papal book, 
she immediately answered : " It is the book in which 
I believe ; do you suppose my oath would be more 
sincere if I took it on yours, in which I do not be- 
lieve ? " She spurned the proposal to send the Dean 
of Peterborough, a Protestant, to attend her in the 
dying hour, but desired her own confessor, who had 
been taken from her several days before. The wish 
was basely disregarded. She then asked when she 
was to die ; the Earl of Shrewsbury answered, " To- 
morrow, madam, about 8 o'clock in the morning." 

The earls departed, and Mary's servants crowded 
about her, weeping with breaking hearts. She soon 



428 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

after partook of an early supper, and called her at 
tendants to the apartment. Pouring out wine, she 
drank to them, and with expressions of warm affec- 
tion, asked from them a similar pledge of love. They 
fell on their knees, and poured out their tears afresh, 
as the last libation upon the altar of fidelity. They 
besought her to pardon all offences. She assured 
them of free forgiveness, and hoped they would ex- 
tend the same charity to her. 

She then retired to spend the night in writing and 
prayer. Near the dawn of day she completed her 
will, which ran as follows : 

"In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 
I, Mary, by the grace of God, Queen of Scotland and Dowager of 
France, being on the point of death, and not having any means of 
making my will, have myself committed these articles to writing, 
and I will and desire that they have the same force as if they were 
made in due form. 

"In the first place, I declare that I die in the Catholic, Apostolie, 
and Eomish faith. First, I desire that a complete service be per- 
formed for my soul in the church of St. Denis, in France, and an- 
other at St. Peter's, at Rheims, where all nvy servants are to attend 
in such manner as they may be ordered to do, by those to whom I 
have given directions, and who are named herein. 

"Further, that an annual obit be founded for prayers for my 
soul, in perpetuity, in such place, and after such manner, as shall 
be deemed most convenient. 

" To furnish funds for this, I will that my houses at Fontaine- 
bleau be sold, hoping that the king will render me assistance, as I 
have requested him to do in my memorandum. 

"I will that my estate of Trespagny be kept by my cousin de 
Guize, for one of his daughters, if she should come to be married. 
In these quarters I relinquish half of the arrears due to me, or a 
part, on condition that the other be paid in order to be expended 
by my executors in perpetual alms. 



MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 429 

"To carry this into effect the better, the documents shall be look- 
ed out, and delivered according to the assignment for accomplishing 
this. 

"I will also that the money which may arise from my lawsuit 
with Secondat be distributed as follows: 

"First, in the discharge of my debts and orders hereafter men- 
tioned, and which are not yet paid ; in the first place, the two 
thousand crowns to Courle ; which I desire to be paid without any 
hesitation, they being a marriage portion, upon which neither Nau 
nor any other person has any claim, whatever obligation he may 
hold, inasmuch as it is only fictitious, and the money is mine and not 
borrowed, which since I did but show him, and afterward with- 
drew it, and it was taken from me, with the rest, at Chartelay ; the 
which I gave him, provided he can recover it, agreeably to my" 
promise, in payment of the four thousand francs promised at my 
death, one thousand as a marriage portion for an own sister, and he 
having asked me for the rest for his expenses in prison. As to the 
payment of a similar sum to Nau, it is not obligatory, and, there- 
fore, it has always been my intention that it should be paid last, 
and then only in case he should make it appear that he has not act- 
ed contrary to the condition upon which I gave it him, and to which 
my servants were witnesses. 

"As regards the twelve hundred crowns, which he has placed to 
my account, as having been borrowed by him for my use, six hun- 
dred of Beauregard, three hundred of Gervais, and the remainder 
from I know not whom, he must repay them out of his own money, and 
I must be quit, and m}^ order annulled, as I have not received any 
part of it, consequently it must be still in his possession, unless he 
has paid it away. Be this as it may, it is necessary that this sum 
should revert to me, I having received nothing ; and in case it has 
not been paid away, I must have recourse to his property. I fur- 
ther direct, that Pasquier shall account for the moneys that he has 
expended and received by order of Nau, from the hands of the ser- 
vants of Monsieur de Chasteauneuf, the French ambassador. 

"Further I will that my accounts be audited, and my treasurer 
paid. 

" Further, that the wages and sums due to my household, as 
well for the last as for the present year, be paid them before alJ 



430 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

other tilings, both wages and pensions, excepting the pensions of 
Nau and Courle, until it be ascertained what there is remaining, or 
whether they have merited any pensions from me, unless the wife 
of Courle be in necessity, or be ill treated on my account: the wa- 
ges of Nau after the same manner. 

" I will that the two thousand four hundred francs which I have 
given to Jeanne Kenedy be paid to her in money, as it was stated 
in my first deed of gift, which done, the pension of Volly Douglas 
shall revert to me, which I give to Fontenay for services and ex- 
penses for which he has had no compensation. 

"I will that the four thousand francs of that banker's be applied 
for and repaid ; I have forgotten his name, but the Bishop of Glas- 
cou will readily recollect it ; and if the first order be not honor- 
ed, I desire that another may be given on the first money from 
Secondat. 

"The ten thousand francs which the ambassador has received for 
me, I will that they be distributed among my servants who are now 
going away, viz : 

"First, two thousand francs to my physician. 

" " " Elizabeth Courle. 

" " " Sebastian Paiges. 

" " " Marie Paiges, my god-daughter. 

" " " Beauregard. 

A thousand francs to Gourgon. 
" " Gervais. 

"Further, that out of the rest of my revenue, with remainder of 
Secondat' s, and all other casualties, I will that five thousand francs 
be given to the foundling hospital of Eheims. 

" To my scholars, two thousand francs. 

"To four mendicants such sum as my executors may think fit, 
according to the means in their hands. 

" Five hundred francs to the hospitals. 

"To Martin escuyer de cuisine, I give a thousand francs. 

"A thousand francs to Annibal, whom I recommend to my cousin 
de Gnyse, his god- father, to place in some situation, for his life, in 
his service. 

"I leave five hundred francs to Nicolas, and five hundred francs 
for his daughters, when they marry. 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 431 

"I leave five hundred francs to Robin Hamilton and beg my son 
to take him and Monsieur de Glascou, or the Bishop of Rosse. 

"I leave to Didier his registership, subject to the approbation of 
the king. 

" I give five hundred francs to Jean Lander, and beg my cousin 
of Guyse, or of Mayne, to take him into their service, and Mes- 
sieurs de Glascou and de Rosse to see him provided for. I will that 
his father be paid his wages, and leave him five hundred francs. 

" I will that one thousand francs be paid to Gourgeon, for money 
and other things with which he supplied me in my necessity. 

" I will that if Bourgoing should perform the journey agreeably to 
the vow which he made for me to Saint Nicolas, that fifteen 
hundred francs be paid to him for that purpose. 

" I leave, according to my slender means, six thousand francs to 
the Bishop of Glascou, and three thousand to him of Rosse. 

"And I leave the gift of casualties and reserved seignorial rights 
to my god-son, the son of Monsieur de Ruisseau. 

" I give three hundred francs to Laurenz 

"Also, three hundred francs to Suzanne. 

"And leave ten thousand francs among the four persons who have 
been my sureties, and to Varmy, the solicitor. 

"I will that the money arising from the furniture which I have 
ordered to be sold in London, shall go to defray the travelling ex- 
penses of my servants to France. 

"My coach I leave to carry the ladies, and the horses, which they 
can sell, or do what they like with. 

"There remains about three hundred crowns due to Bourgoing, 
for the wages of past years, which I desire may be paid him. 

" I leave two thousand francs to Melvin, my steward. 

" I appoint my cousin, the Duke of Guise, principal executor of 
my will. 

"After him, the Archbishop of Glascou, the Bishop of Rosse, and 
Monsieur du Ruisseau, my chancellor. 

" I desire that Le Preau may, without obstacle, hold his two pre- 
bends. 

" I recommend Marie Paiges, my god-daughter, to my cousin, 
Madam de Guise, and beg her to take her into her service, and my 
aunt de Saint * * ****** 



432 MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

Memorandum — Of the last requests which I make to the King. 

"To cause to be paid me all that is due to me of my pensions, as 
also of money advanced by the late queen, my mother, in Scotland, 
for the service of the king, my father-in-law, in those parts ; that at 
least an annual obit may be founded for my soul, and that the alms 
and the little endowments promised me, may be carried into effect. 

"Further, that he may be pleased to grant me the benefit of my 
dowry for one year after my death, to recompense my servants. 

" Further, that he may be pleased to allow them their wages and 
pensions during their lives, as was done to the officers of Queen 
Alienor. Further, I entreat him to take my physician into his ser- 
vice, according to his promise to consider him as recommended. 

"Further, that my almoner may be replaced in his profession, 
and for my sake have some trifling benefice conferred upon him, 
so that he may pray to God for my soul, during the rest of his life. 

"Further, that Didier, an old officer of my household, whom I 
have recompensed by a registership, may be permitted to enjoy it 
for his life, being already far advanced in years. Written on the 
morning of my death, this "Wednesday, 8th of February, 1587. 

Signed, Mary Queen. 

Nothing, perhaps, could give a better illustration 
of the clearness of Mary Stuart's intellect on the 
verge of old age, and the tranquillity of her spirit in 
view of death, than the preparation of this minute 
document. Officers of the realm were sleeping with- 
in those silent walls ; King James was reposing in 
Holyrood palace ; the scaffold was the place of her 
next appearing before men ; and yet she moved her 
facile pen without trembling or wandering thought. 
Depositing her papers in a casket, she applied herself 
to preparation for the block, and remarked, she must 
think only of appearing before God. 



CHAPTER X. 

mart stuart's last slumber — the morning dawns — the interview 

WITH HER SERVANTS HER DEVOTIONS THE SUMMONS THE CAPTTVE'8 

DEATH-MARCH HER ADDRESS ON THE SCAFFOLD RELIGIOUS SCENES 

THE VICTIM PREPARES FOR THE SACRIFICE THE FATAL STROKE FUNE- 
RAL CEREMONIES EFFECT OF MARY'S EXECUTION ON THE PUBLIC MIND — 

HER CHARACTER. 

The almoner of Mary, according to her request, 
spent the midnight hours in prayer, and sent her his 
absolution. She read in the Lives of the Saints, and 
pausing with emotion over the story of the penitent 
thief, remarked : " He was a great sinner ; but not so 
great as I am. I beseech our Lord, in memory of his 
passion, to have remembrance and mercy of me, as 
he had of him, in the hour of death." 

She then sought repose, to obtain strength for the 
coming trial of her courage and immortal hopes. 
Amid the tears and prayers of her women, the illus- 
trious prisoner slept. As the beams of morning stole 
through the guarded windows upon her pale and 
mournful features, a smile of martyr-triumph passed 
over them. Whatever her true rank in the scale of 
moral being, she felt herself to be an offering to God 

in the service of the Catholic church. Eising in this 
S 28 



4:34: MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

twilight of opening day, she said she had only two 
hours to live ; and immediately commenced prepara- 
tions for the scaffold. Selecting a golden-fringed 
handkerchief for the bandage to cover her eyes, she 
arrayed her form in solemn magnificence. The ser- 
vants were gathered about her — the will read, and 
the gifts of affection committed to their care ; while 
she lavished on them jewelry, and purses of coin, 
adding expressions of consolation to alleviate the 
grief of separation. 

Withdrawing from the weeping company, she went 
to the oratory, where she was accustomed to bow with 
her spiritual counselor, before he was unfeelingly ta- 
ken from her. The supplications of the dying were 
falling from her lips, when the summons of her exe- 
cutioners disturbed the earnest worshiper. She de- 
sired to finish her devotions, and was allowed to con- 
tinue them. In a few moments the knocking was 
renewed, and the sheriff entered. Advancing to Ma- 
ry, who had not moved, he lifted his white wand, and 
said, " Madam, the lords await you, and have sent me 
to you." She rose from her knees, and replied, "Yes, 
let us go." One of the attendants handed her an 
ivory crucifix from the altar ; kissing the symbol, she 
ordered it to be carried before her to the place of 
execution. 

Leaning, in her weakness, on two of her servants, 
she reached the limits of her own apartments, when 
they, with great delicacy of feeling, fell into the pro- 
cession of mourners, and left her to the servitors of 
the jailer. At the staircase which led to the hall of 



MAEY QUEEN OE SCOTS. 435 

death below, the servants were commanded to panse ; 
entreaties to follow the Queen were in vain ; and 
rushing to her feet, they clung with sobs to her dress, 
until forcibly removed. Bearing in one hand a pray- 
er-book, and the cross in the other, with serene and 
majestic mien she descended the steps, in her wid- 
ow's apparel ; "A gown of dark crimson velvet with 
black satin corsage, from which chaplets and scapula- 
ries were suspended, and which was surmounted by 
a cloak of figured satin of the same color, with a long 
train lined with sable, a standing up collar and hang- 
ing sleeves. A white veil was thrown over her, 
reaching from her head to her feet." 

When she entered the hall Andrew Melvil, her 
mdtre d? hotel, met her to bid her farewell. Kneel- 
ing with uncontrollable grief, Mary embraced him, 
and with words of gratitude for his fidelity, charged 
him to give a true record of what was transpiring, to 
James YL, her son. He answered, " It will be the 
most sorrowful message I ever carried, to announce 
that the Queen, my sovereign and dear mistress,is 
dead." With a faint smile she said, " Thou shouldst 
rather rejoice, good Melvil, that Mary Stuart has ar- 
rived at the close of her misfortunes. Thou knowest 
that this world is indeed full of troubles and misery. 
Bear these tidings — that I die firm in my religion, a 
true Catholic, a true Scotch-woman, a true French- 
woman. May God forgive those who have sought my 
death. The Judge of the secret thoughts and actions 
of men knows, that I have always desired the union 
of England and Scotland. Commend me to my son, 



436 MAEY QUEEN OFSOOTS. 

and tell him I have never done anything that could 
prejudice the welfare of the kingdom, or his quality 
as a King, nor derogate in any respect from our sove- 
reign prerogative." 

Turning to the Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent, she 
requested pardon for her secretary, Curie, and that 
the servants might attend her to the scaffold. The 
earls expressing a fear of trouble on account of their 
wild sorrow, and that they might attempt to dip their 
handkerchiefs in her blood : she replied : " My lords, 
I pledge my word that they will do nothing of the 
kind. Alas ! poor souls, they will be gratified at ta- 
king leave of me ; and I am sure your mistress, be- 
ing a virgin Queen, would not refuse to allow another 
Queen to have her women about her at the moment 
of her death. She cannot have given you such rig- 
orous orders. Tou would grant me more than that 
even if I were a person of lower rank ; and yet, my 
lords, you know that I am your Queen's cousin. You 
certainly will not refuse me this last request. My 
poor girls desire no more than to see me die." 

The dying wish was granted, and she selected Bur- 
goin, her physician ; Gorion, her apothecary ; Gervais, 
her surgeon ; Diclier, her butler ; Jean Kennedy and 
Elizabeth Curie. Melvil bore the train of the Queen's 
dress. The scaffold was two feet and a half high, 
twelve feet square, and covered with black cloth. 
The chair, cushion on whica she was to kneel, and the 
block, were all overlaid with the same sombre dra- 
pery. With as much dignity, repose of manner, and 
gracefulness, as though ascending a throne, Mary 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 437 

stepped upon the scaffold, and sat down in the chair 
of death. 

On her right hand was seated the earls ; on her left 
stood the sheriff; the two executioners were in front, 
dressed in black velvet, and the servants lined the 
walls; while two hundred people from the adja- 
cent country, crowded the barred area of the si- 
lent hall. It was a sad and moving sight. The 
fallen Queen, with the outline of fading beauty 
still visible, around whose fate in that gloomy castle 
there was a world-wide interest, sat calmly beholding 
the throng, and awaiting the fatal stroke. Beale then 
read the sentence, to which Mary listened unmoved. 

When it was concluded, she made the sign of the 
cross, and said in clear accents, 

" My lords, I am a Queen born, a sovereign prin- 
cess, not subject to the laws, a near relation of the 
Queen of England, and her lawful heiress. After 
having been long and unjustly detained prisoner in 
this country, where I have endured much pain and 
evil, though nobody had any right over me, being 
now, through the strength and under the power 
of men, ready to forfeit my life, I thank God for 
permitting me to die for my religion, and in presence 
of a company who will bear witness that, just before 
my death, I protested, as I have always done, both in 
private and in public, that I never contrived any 
means of putting the Queen to death, nor consented 
to anything against her person." 

She added again her denial of enmity toward any, 
and of designs against Elizabeth. Engaging in fer- 



438 MAEY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

vent prayer, the Protestant clean, Dr. Fletcher, inter- 
rupted her, and exhorted her to prepare to die. Re- 
jecting his offices, she told him that, firm in the Catholic 
faith, she expected to shed her blood for it. He urged 
her to repent, when Mary indignantly bade him be 
silent. The earls then said they wished to offer pray- 
er in her behalf. 

She answered, "My lords, if you will pray with 
me, I will even from my heart thank you, and think 
myself greatly favored by you ; but to join in prayer 
with you in your manner, who are not of one religion 
with me, it were a sin, and I will not." Thus did the 
Reformation battle with Papacy on the platform of 
bloody penalty. The Dean proceeded with the fol- 
lowing eloquent petition : 

" Oh, most gracious God and merciful father, who, according to 
the multitude of thy mercies, dost so put away the sins of them 
that truly repent, that thou rememberest them no more, open, we 
beseech thee, thine eyes of mercy, and behold this person appoint- 
ed unto death, whose eyes of understanding and spiritual light, al- 
beit thou hast hitherto shut up, that the glorious beams of thy 
favor in Jesus Christ do not shine upon her, but is possessed with 
blindness and ignorance of heavenly things (a certain token of 
heavy displeasure, if thy unspeakable mercy do not triumph against 
thy judgment) yet, O Lord our God, impute not, we beseech thee, 
unto her those her offences, which separate her from thy mercy; 
and, if it may stand with thine everlasting purpose and good pleas- 
ure, Lord, grant unto us, we beseech thee, this mercy, which is 
about thy throne, that the eyes of her heart may be enlightened, 
that she may be converted unto thee ; and grant her also, if it be 
thy blessed will, the heavenly comfort of thy Holy Spirit, that she 
may taste and see how gracious the Lord is. Thou hast no pleasure, 
good Lord, in the death of a sinner, and no man shall praise thy 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 439 

name in the pit ; renew in her, Lord, we most humbly "beseech 
thy majesty, whatsoever is corrupt in her, either by her own frail- 
ty, or by the malice of the ghostly enemy ; visit her, O Lord, if it 
be thy good pleasure, with thy saving health, as thou didst the of- 
fender at the side of thy cross, with this consolation : This day 
shalt thou be with me in Paradise. Say unto her soul, as thou didst 
unto thy servant David, I am thy salvation ; so shall they mercy, 
being more mighty, be more magnified. Grant these mercies, O 
Lord, to us thy servants, to the increase of thy kingdom, and glory 
at this time. And further, most merciful Father, preserve, we 
most humbly beseech thy majesty, in long and honorable peace and 
safety, Elizabeth thy servant, our most natural sovereign lady and 
queen ; let them be ashamed and confounded, Lord, that seek af- 
ter her soul ; let them be turned backward and put to confusion 
that wish her evil; and strengthen still, Lord, we pray thee, the 
hand and balance of justice amongst us, by her gracious govern- 
ment ; so shall we, both now and ever, rest under thy faithfulness 
and truth, as under our shield and buckler, and bless thy name and 
magnify thy mercy, which livest and reignest one most gracious 
God, forever and ever. Amen." 

Mary did not heed the Dean, but bowed in devotion 
till he ceased, when, records a spectator : 

"She rose, and kneeled downe agayne, praying in English, for 
Christe's afflicted church, an end of hir troubles, for hir sonne, and 
for the Queen's majestye; to God for forgiveness of the sinns of 
them in this islande : Shee forgave hir ennemyes with all hir harte, 
that had longe sought hir blood. This done, she desired all saintes 
to make intercession for hir to the Saviour of the worlde, Jesus 
Christ. Then she began to kiss hir crucifix, and to cross hirself, 
saying these wordes : ' Even as thy armes, oh, Jesus Christ, were 
spredd heer upon the cross, so receive me into the armes of mer- 
cye.' Then the two executioners kneeled downe unto hir, desiring 
hir to forgive them hir death. Shee answered, "I forgive yow 
with all my harte. For I hope this death shall give an end to all 
my troubles.' They, with hir two weomen helping, began to dis- 
roabe hir, and then shee layde the crucifix: upon the stoole. One 



4:4:0 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

of the executioners took from her neck the Agnus Dei, and shee 
layde hold of it, saying, she would give it to one of hir weomen, 
and, withal, told the executioner that he should havemonye for it. 
Then they took off her chayne. Shee made hirself unready with 
a kinde of gladness, and smiling, putting on a payer of sleeves with 
her own handes, which the twoo executioners before bad rudely 
put off, and with such speed, as if shee had longed to be gone out 
of the worlde. 

"During the disroabing of this queen, shee never altered hir 
countenance, but smiling sayde, shee never had such groomes be- 
fore to make hir unready e, nor ever did putt of hir cloathes before 
such a companye. At lengthe unattyred and unapparrelled to hir 
petticoat and kirtle, the two weomen burst out into a great and pit- 
tiful shrieking, crying and lamentation, crossed themselves and 
prayed in Lattine. The queen turned towards them: i Ne cry vous, 
fay prey e pur vous : ' and so crossed, and kissed them, and bad them 
pray for hir. 

" Then with a smiling countenance shee turned to her men ser- 
vants, Melvin and the rest, crossed them, badd them farwell, and 
pray for her to the last. 

"One of the weomen having a Corpus Christi cloathe, lapped it 
upp three corner wise, and kissed it, and put it over the face of hir 
queen, and pynned it fast upon the caule of hir head. Then the 
two weomen departed. The queen kneeled downe upon the cush- 
ion resolutely, and, without any token of feare of deathe, sayde 
allowde in Lattin the psalme, In te domine, confido. Then groap- 
ing for the block, she layde down hir head, putting hir cheane over 
her back with bothe her handes, which, holding their still, had been 
cut off, had they not been espyed. 

"Then she layde hirself upon the blocke most quietly, and stretch- 
ing out hir armes, cry ed out : In manus tuas, domine, commendo spir- 
iturn ineum, three or four tymes. 

"Att last, while one of the executioners held hir streightly with 
one of his handes, the other gave two stroakes with an axe before 
he did cutt of hir head. 

"Shee made very smale noyse, no part stirred from the place 
where shee laye. The executioners lifted upp the head, and bad 
God save the Queen. Then hir dressinge of Lawne fell from hir 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. Ml 

head, which appeared as graye as if shee had byn thre score and 
ten yeares olde. Hir face much altred, hir lipps stirred upp and 
down almost a quarter of an hower after hir head was cut off. 
Then sa3 T de Mr. Deane : *. So perish all the Queen's ennemyes.' The 
Earl of Kent camme to the dead body, and with a lower voice sayde, 
* Such end happen to all the Queen's and Gospell's ennemyes.' One 
of the executioners espyed hir little dogg which was crept under 
hir cloathes, which would not be gotten fourth but with force, and 
afterwardes would not departe from the dead corps, but camme and 
layde between hir headland shoulders ; a thing much noted. The 
dogg embrewed in her blood was carryed awaye and washed, as all 
things els were that had any blood, save those thinges which were 
burned. The executioners were sent awaye with mony for their 
fees, not having any one thyng that belonged unto hir. After- 
wardes every one was commanded forth of the hall, saving the 
Sherife and his men, who carryed hir up into a great chamber made 
ready for the Surgeons to embalme hir, and there shee was em- 
balmed." 

The " things burned," were the golden cross, the 
chaplets suspended to her girdle, and the apparel in 
which she was beheaded, that they might not be kept 
as relics by her friends of like faith. 

The castle gates were closed, and none allowed to 
depart, until Henry Talbot, son of the Earl of Shrews- 
bury, was dispatched to Elizabeth with the account 
of the tragedy. He reached Greenwich, where Eliz- 
abeth then was, February 9th, 1587. Before sunset 
the news spread over London ; the ringing of bells 
and illuminations proclaimed the wild and fanatical 
rejoicings of the populace. 

The funeral pageant is described by an eye-wit- 
ness of the imposing ceremonies: 

s* 



44:2 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

FUNEEAL AND INTERMENT OF MAET QUEEN OF SCOTS * 

" On Sunday, the 30th of July, reckoning according to the new 
reformation of the calendar, the 8th of August, 1587, ahout eight 
o'clock in the evening, there came to Fotheringay Castle, a carriage 
drawn by four horses, attired in mourning, and covered with black vel- 
vet with the arms of Scotland, the carriage or coach covered in like 
manner all round with small banneroles, exhibiting partly the arms 
of Scotland, partly those of the house of Anjou, from which the de- 
ceased husband of her majesty was descended. The king of the 
heralds having arrived with about twenty* men on horseback, both 
gentlemen and others, and some servitors and lacqueys, all dressed 
in mourning, went up to the chamber where the corpse was, direc- 
ted it to be carried down and put into the same carriage which was 
done with all possible reverence, all bare-headed and in silence; 
while this was doing, the servants, to whom no notice had been 
given, astonished at these preparations, were consulting among 
themselves whether they ought to offer to follow the body to see 
what was going to be done with it, deeming that it was not their 
duty to let it be carried away without being accompanied by some 
of them, the said king of the heralds went and explained to them 
the commission which he had received from his mistress, touching 
the interment of the body and the funeral which she had promised, 
for which he had been commanded to make arrangements, and to 
pay all the honors to the deceased that he could. Whereupon, 
wishing to comply with these directions, and having already prepared 
many things necessary for this purpose, it was thought more expedi- 
ent to remove the corpse that night, than to wait till the day fixed for 
its interment, which was the following Tuesday, as well on account 
of the distance, which was about three French leagues from thence, 
and because the leaden coffin would be too heavy to be carried in 
Btate, and it could not take place on the day appointed, without col- 
lecting a great concourse of people, and producing confusion, or 
default of some kind; and as the vault was already made, they pro- 
posed to deposit the body in it this night, and on the Tuesday to 

* There cannot be a doubt that this paper, written in French., 
proceeds from one who had belonged to the household of the Queen 
of Scots. 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 44:3 

perform the funeral obsequies with due ceremony, for the greater 
convenience ; and that it was advisable for some of them, such as 
they should think proper, to accompany the corpse, and to see what 
should be done with it, and that the rest of the servants should go 
thither next day to attend the funeral on the day appointed. 

"All being thus prepared, the corpse was carried out about ten 
o'clock at night, accompanied by the said herald and other English, 
with seven servants of her majesty, namely, Monsieur Melvin, Mon- 
sieur Burgoin, Pierre Corion, Annibal Stonard, Jean Lander, and 
Mcolas de la Mare^ precededby men on foot bearing lighted torches, 
to give light on the road, and arrived about two in the morning at 
Peterbourg, which is a small town, not walled any more than the 

other towns of England, on the river, where has 

been built a* very handsome church, the work of an ancient king 
of England named Peda. Here, in the times of the Catholic reli- 
gion, there was an abbey of monks of St Benedict, now erected 
into a bishopric — for all the abbeys have been suppressed — where 
canons officiate to their institution, in the same sort of dress and 
vestment as ours. 

"In this church was interred that good Queen Catherine, wife of 
the late King Henry VIIL, on the left side within the choir, where 
there is still her monument, adorned with a canopy, with her armo- 
rial bearings. On the right side, exactly opposite, was made a grave, 
bricked all round, and of sufficient depth, wherein was deposited the 
corpse of her majesty in the two coffins. In the middle of the choir 
was erected a dome, resembling the chapelles ardentes in France, ex- 
cepting that it was covered with black velvet, garnished all over 
with the arms of Scotland, with bipartite banneroles, as it has been 
said. Within it was placed the representation, which was in the form 
of a bier covered with black velvet, and upon it a pillow of crimson 
velvet, on which was laid a crown. The church was hung with 
black cloth, from the door to the interior of the ehoir, sprinkled 
with the said armorial bearings. 

" On the arrival of the body, the bishop of the said town of Pe- 
terbourg, in his episcopal habit, but without mitre, crosier or cope, 
with the dean and some others in their canonicals, came to receive 
the body at the entrance of the church, and preceded it to the said 
grave, in which it was put in the presence of all, without chanting, 



444 MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 

or tolling, or saying a word ; and then they deliberated about say 
ing some customary prayers, but agreed to defer them till the day 
of the funeral. The workmen immediately set about making an 
arch of brick over the grave, which covered the whole, level with 
the ground, leaving only an aperture of about a foot and a half, 
through which might be seen what was within, and also for admitting 
the broken staves of the officers and the flags, which it is customary 
to put down at the funerals of sovereigns. 

" On Monday, the preparations were completed ; the rooms in 
which the banquet was to be held were hung, and the herald re- 
quested the servants who had come hither to look at and consider 
"the whole, explaining how he intended to proceed ; that if they saw 
anything wanting, anything that needed amending or correcting, 
whatever it might be, that they thought not proper, and it should 
be made to their satisfaction ; that such was the pleasure of his mis- 
tress, that nothing was to be spared ; and that if he had failed to 
obey these directions it would be his fault, wishing the whole to 
be done in the most honorable manner possible. Whereto answer 
was very coldly made, that it was not for them to find fault ; that 
his mistress and he were discreet enough to do what was right, 
as they had agreed, and that the whole was dependent on their 
pleasure. 

" The Queen of England had some days before sent cloth to make 
mourning for the servants of her majesty, as much as was necessary 
for the men to make a cloak a-piece for Monsieur Melvin, Monsieur 
Bourgoin, and a gown for each of the women, but some of them de- 
clined it, making shift with their own dresses, which they had got 
made for mourning immediately after the death of the deceased 
and as the head-dresses of the ladies and women were not according 
to the fashion of the country for mourning, a woman was sent 
on purpose to make others in their fashion, to be worn by them 
on the day of the funeral, and to be theirs afterward; so anxious 
was that sweet Elizabeth to have it believed that she was sor- 
ry for the death of her majesty, that she furnished all the mourn- 
ing dresses worn by those who walked in the procession, more 
than three hundred and fifty in number, paying the whole expense. 

The procession was composed of " poor women 
mourners to the number of one hundred," the nobili- 



MART QUEEN OF SCOTS. 4:45 

ty, with their attendants, grooms of the chamber, 
Scots in cloaks, officers of the realm, and the corpse, 
borne by six esquires in cloaks. In the procession 
were borne the standard of Scotland, the great ban- 
ner, the helm, crest, target, sword, coat, etc., together 
with eight bannerols, and the canopy, of black velvet, 
fringed with gold, borne by four knights. 

.1 

"The body being thus brought into the quire, was set down within 
the royal hearse, which was twenty feet square, and twenty-seven 
feet in height, covered over with black velvet, and richly set with 
escutcheons of arms and fringe of gold ; upon the body, which wa8 
covered with a pall of black velvet, lay a purple velvet cushion, 
fringed and tasseled with gold, and upon the same a close crown of 
gold set with stones ; after the body was thus placed, and every 
mourner according to their degree, the sermon was begun by the 
Bishop of Lincoln, after which certain anthems were sung by the 
choir, and the offering began very solemnly, as followeth : 

"The Offering. 
"First, the chief mourner offered for the queen, attended upon by 
all ladies. The coat, sword, target, and helme, was severally car- 
ried up by the two Earls of Rutland and Lincoln, one after another, 
and received by the Bishop of Peterborough, and Mr. Garter, king 
at arms. 

The standard alone. 

The great banner alone. 

The lady chief mourner alone. 

The trayne-bearer alone. 

The two earls together. 

The lord steward. The lord chamberlayne. 

The Bishop of Lincoln alone. 

The four lords assistants to the body. 

The treasurer, comptroller, and vice-chamberlayne. 

The four knights that bore the canopy. 
"In which offeringe every course was led up by a herald, for tho 
more order ; after which, the two bishops and the Dean of Peter- 
borough came to the vault, and over the body began to read the 



4:4:6 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. . 

funeral service : which being said, every officer broke his staff over 
his head, and threw the same into the vault to the body ; and so every 
one departed, as they came, after their degrees, to the bishop's pal- 
ace, where was prepared a most royal feast, and a dole given unto 
the poor." 

Delivered from one cause of fear, Elizabeth was 
tormented with apprehensions of danger from the for- 
eign princes, whose protest she had scorned. Affect- 
ing ignorance of Mary's death, she despised and pun- 
ished the agents of her cruel work. She even denied 
either knowledge or approval of the execution. 
France heard with surprise and sadness of the event, 
and anathemas were thundered by the priesthood 
against the "English Jezebel." The king of Scot- 
land, in hot indignation, declared vengeance upon the 
slayer of his mother. The Queen wrote letters of 
exj)lanation and conciliation. Philip II. seriously in- 
dulged the design of avenging Mary's death. The 
grand armada, and' its destruction, were the fruits of 
his anger. Elizabeth, victorious over all enemies, 
advanced the grandeur and glory of England. When 
dying, March 24th, 1602, she was desired to declare 
her successor ; she replied, " Who but my kinsman, 
the King of Scots ?" and soon after expired, a learn- 
ed, powerful, vain, haughty, violent, and dissimula- 
ting sovereign. She sleeps beside her rival in West- 
minster Abbey. Mary Stuart was born while her 
father, James Y., was sinking with a fatal wound re- 
ceived in battle for the independence of Scotland. 
Around her cradle began the contest, whether a 
French alliance or the house of Tudor should prevail. 



MARY QUEEN OP SOOTS. 44:7 

France for a while was triumphant, and gave to Mary 
all the happiness she ever knew. She ascended the 
throne of Scotland, with the Reformation rocking her 
native soil with earthquake violence. With the re- 
finement and corruption of a dazzling court affecting 
her manners and feelings, and a witching beauty of 
person, she had no sympathy with either the customs 
or religion of ,her Protestant subjects. Gallantries 
made her obnoxious to the contempt of the Puritans, 
and weakened her influence with the people. Unfor- 
tunate in her marriages, impulsive in her passions, 
ambitious in her aims, and a firm Catholic, she lost 
her crown at the hand of the Reformers, and impru- 
dently threw herself upon the mercy of Elizabeth, 
whose successor she determined to be. Plots and 
conspiracies completed her ruin, which unyielding ri- 
valry sealed with blood. 

Mary Stuart was a charming woman in mind, per- 
sonal loveliness, and conversation. But an impure 
breath soiled her young heart ; soaring aspirations 
lured her ever onward from one doubtful experiment 
to another ; and adherence to an exclusive, persecu- 
ting faith, lent the delusive zeal of the fanatic to her 
religious life. Her unfilial son attained to the honor 
she so ardently desired for him, and both have slept 
during the fierce commotions of centuries, in the mag- 
nificent tomb of kings. Both, with the imperious 
Elizabeth, have confronted a Judge who is no respect- 
er of persons, and renders to each immortal, righteous 
judgment. To the bliud and to the impartial admirer 
of Mary, there is alike a picture of female character, 



44:8 MARY QTJEEN OF SCOTS. 

amid whose brilliant lines and gloomy shades there 
are touches of life's pencil, suggestive of chastening 
thoughts, and illustrative of the transcendent excel- 
lence of Christian purity and principle, which would 
have adorned and saved from premature wreck, 
genius, love, and beauty. 



T«iE END. 



THE LIF 

OF 

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, 

Emptor of Jrann* 

BY J. Q. LOCKHART. 
"With Steel Portrait, 392 pp. 12iaa©., Muslin. Price SI 25. 

"The lightning may flash and the loud thunder rattle, 
He heeds not, he hears not, he's free from all pain ; 

He has slept his last sleep, he has fought his last battle, 
No sound can awake him to glory again." 

He was the greatest actor the world has known since the time 
of Csesar. He sported with crowns and sceptres as the baubles of a 
child. He rode triumphantly to power over the ruins of the throne9 
with which he strewed his pathway. Vast armies melted away like 
wax before him. He moved over the earth as a meteor traverses the 
sky, astonishing and startling all by the suddenness and brilliancy of 
his career. Here was his greatness. The earth will feel his power 
till its last cycle shall have been run. 



THE LIFE 

OF 

THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE, 

iilxst Hifc of |lap(coiL 

BY P. O. HEADLEY. 

With Steel Portrait, 383 pp., 12m®., Muslin. Price $1 25, 

"Like the lily, 
That once was mistress of the field and flowers here, 
I'll hang my head and perish." 

Josephine, for the times in which she lived, was a model of 
female character; and if this volume shall make the study of it more 
general, it will so far extend the admiration of the pure and beautiful, 
in contrast with all the forms of corruption humanity could present iu 
a period of bloody Revolution. The Empress was a greater personage 
than ISapoleon in the elements of moral grandeur, and retained her 
sovereignty in the hearts of the people, while he ruled by the unri- 
valed splendor of his genius. 



THE NORTHERN SEMIEAMIS! 



MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE AND REIGN 

OF 

CATHERINE THE SECOND, 

€m$xt$8 of Russia ; 

WITH HER SUCCESSORS. 

COMPRISING INCIDENTS IN RUSSIAN DISTORT TO THE FALL OF SEVASTOPOL. 

BY SAMUEL M.SMUCKER, A. M. 
One Volume, 338 pp. 12mo., Steel Portrait* Price $1 00. 

OPINIONS OF REVIEWERS. 

ITiis is decidedly a well written work. It is of great value at this time, when the 
public are so much interested in all that pertains to Russian history. — Saturday Eve- 
ning Mail. 

Catharine II., great-grandmother of the present Emperor of Russia, inaugurated the 
system of national policy which England and France are now seeking to foil. With 
manv grave and important faults of character, she was. nevertheless, wise, fearless, and 
po'iric. Her policy has guided the fate of the empire since her death, and is now settling 
the condition of Europe, perhaps for centuries. The life under notice is a full and able 
one. and will be read with general and intense interest.— Detroit Advertiser 

An impartial review o'one of the most exciting periods in the history of the Roma- 
noff dynasty. — Philadelphia D/'spaP h. 

We know of nothing that reads so like a better class romance, as that part of Russian 
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The history of so remarkable a woman as Catherine II. of Russia, whose force of mind 
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25 Park Row, New York, and 107 Genesee-st., Auburn. 



THE LIFE 



OF 



JOAN OF ARC, 

t Uaifr fff #rUatts. 



BY E>. W. BARTLETT, 

AUTHOR OF "LADY JANE GREY," "WHAT I SAW IN LONDON," ETC. 

Steel Portrait, 221 pp. 16mo,, Muslin. Price 75 Cents. 

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THE LIFE 

OF 

LADY JANE GREY. 

BY D. W. BARTLETT. 
In One Volume, 298 pp. 16mo. Price 75 Cents. 

Few -women have ever lived whose unfortunate history 
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Her melancholy fate will ever constitute one of the most 
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writes— Christian Secretary. 

MILLER, ORTON k MULLIGAN, Publishers, 
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9 f> 










V 



^ 















^ * « 1 -\ 






7 V 






V v 

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